Snowbound
by Bob Wright
Summary: Melanie's new friends invite her to go skiing with them at a brand new resort. But danger is awaiting for all of them. Can Melanie stop it, or is her life and theirs destined to be snuffed out young? NOW COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

SNOWBOUND

BY

BOB WRIGHT

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Fear Street and all related characters and indicia are registered trademarks of Robert Lawrence Stine and other valid copyright holders. And now, sit back and enjoy the story.

* * *

"...class, may I have...may I have your attention please? Very good. Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to a new student. Her name's Melanie, she's from Nebraska, and I hope we can all make her feel welcome here."

The expressions on the faces of the students throughout the classroom was mostly mixed from what Melanie could see a the front of the classroom. Most looked indifferent, a few even hostile. By now, though, she wasn't surprised; she'd been getting mostly the same reactions all day so far.

With a shake of her head, she took the one remaining open seat in the class by the window. She took a glance around the classroom. No one was looking at her. She slumped her head onto her hands. She'd had a feeling Shadyside would be different than back in Lawrenceburg, and so far it had been: there seemed to be no sense of community here. All morning long, everyone she'd tried to be friendly with had said nothing, had turned away. Hopefully, she thought in her mind, things would improve.

She listened to the teacher start droning on and on about trigonomics. Eventually, however, her attention flagged; math never really interested her much anyway. Checking to make sure the teacher wasn't noticing, she pulled out a notebook, hefted her pen, and started writing:

 _An owl hooted in the trees outside the cabin. Courtney heard it quite clearly, as she was wide awake on her bunk, her mind racing. What had been going on in the woods? And why were the other counselors so dismissive when she'd tried to tell them something was amiss?_

 _"Am I reading too much into this?" she questioned herself, "Nobody at the camp's in any danger so far. Should I really get too involved?"_

 _She thought it over hard. Deep down, though, she knew she had her answer. She simply had to know what was happening. Besides, there was the chance the camp might end up in danger eventually..._

 _"Allison," she whispered, reaching down and shaking her bunkmate. There was a loud moan. "Courtney, do you have any idea what time it is!?" came Allison's frustrated mumble._

 _"It's only about eleven thirty. I'm going to check out the sounds in the woods," Courtney crawled out of bed and started climbing down to the cabin floor._

 _"Do we have to!? Look, Courtney, Mr. Wilder said it was probably just a bear or something; it's not worth..."_

 _"But what if it is more? If something's going on, we ought to find out."_

 _"Can't you just let this go!?" Allison complained, nonetheless sliding out of bed herself._

 _"Come on, Allison, where's your sense of adventure?" Courtney dared her, dressing quickly, "We'll be in and out in no time, no one will know we're gone...oh yeah, we'll have to let Mandy in on it too since she's been..."_

 _"All right, all right, I'll go," Allison sighed, dressing herself now, "But if we get caught out of bed, this was all your idea."_

 _"You won't regret it," Courtney commended her, slapping her baseball cap on her head. She cautiously opened the cabin door and glanced around. All was quiet in the other cabins, and only crickets chirping could be heard. Nodding, she waved Allison to follow her towards Cabin Three, where a lone light could be seen in one window. Courtney nodded, knowing who it was. "Mandy," she called softly, tapping on the window. It slowly creaked open. "Hey, what are you guys doing up?" Mandy whispered, sticking her head out._

 _"We're going to search in the woods for whoever or whatever might be there; you want to come?" Courtney asked her._

 _"Uh...OK, sure," Mandy nodded, "Just let me get a few things here..."_

The end of period bell rang loudly, taking Melanie's attention from her writing. She glanced at her watch. The period-her last before lunch-had gone quicker than she'd thought. Hopefully she had heard enough to pass whatever homework she'd have for trigonometry...

She hefted her backpack and bustled among a crowd of students-none of whom turned to look at her-down the hall to her locker. She turned the combination to open it, deposited her unneeded school books inside, and grabbed her lunch bag...

"Hey, hi there," came a voice behind her, the first truly friendly voice she'd head all day. Melanie turned to see a smiling girl behind her. She had long red hair and shared Melanie's deep blue eyes. "You're new, right?" the newcomer greeted her, "It's Melanie, I think Mrs. Collins said?"

"Yeah, I'm Melanie, Melanie Haddix, and this is my first day here," Melanie told her, "And you are...?"

"I'm Marti McClure, and it's so good to meet you, Melanie," her smile getting wider, Marti shook Melanie's hand, "Oh, and you have lunch next, so do I," she'd noticed Melanie's lunch bag in her hand, "Promise you'll sit with me."

"Well..."

"Come on, you know you want to."

"Well, yeah, I guess I do," Melanie broke into her first smile all day. It was good to have someone talking with her anyway.

"All right, cafeteria's this way, then," Marti waved her to follow her down the hall. "So tell me more about yourself, Melanie," she eagerly asked her.

"Well, like I said, I'm Melanie Haddix, I'm seventeen, I'm from Lawrenceburg, Nebraska. My dad was the town minister; he took a new assignment here in Shadyside, and well, here I am," Melanie told her, "And I'm glad you want to be friendly with me, Marti, because no one else has seemed to want to be all day."

"Yeah, I know where you're coming from. We moved here from Tennessee three years ago, and I was sort of on the outside myself for a while," Marti admitted, her expression dropping for the first time, "In Shadyside, they're a bit suspicious of outsiders. But luckily, I found a good group of friends willing to take me in, and you'll have to meet them too; they have lunch next as well, so it should be easy. So, are you a writer, Melanie? I noticed you writing during trigonometry class..."

"Well, yeah, sort of. I have been working on a story of..."

"Can I take a look?" Marti reached for the notebook.

"Well, it's kind of...I don't..." Melanie tried to protest, but Marti had already taken the notebook and was scanning through it. "Hmm, looks interesting," she commended Melanie's writing, "I guess you're into mysteries?"

"Well, sort of," Melanie shuffled about uncomfortably, "It seemed like a good idea...this girl Courtney's a counselor at summer camp, and something's going on in the woods...it's really kind of amateurish..."

"I think it's a good start," Marti was impressed. She handed Melanie back the notebook. "And you're in luck too, Melanie; I like writing too. In fact, I'm on the school paper, and I'd be willing to press the staff to take you on with me...if you agree to one big concession," her expression grew solemn.

"What concession?" Melanie frowned, "I'm not really good at initiations, Marti, and I'd hate to give up..."

"Nah, don't worry," Marti's smile had returned, "You promise that my friends and I get to sleep over your house tonight, and you sleep over each of our houses the rest of the week, and you're in."

"Well...OK, sounds like a good deal to me," Melanie found herself smiling now. She was liking Marti more and more every minute.

"Wonderful," Marti clapped her hands excitedly, "And you're just in time: do you like skiing?"

"Well there's not many places you can go skiing in Nebraska, Marti."

"Oh yeah, right. Well, anyway, my friends and I love it, and we were going to spend the weekend at a big new resort north of town that just opened. I was going to give it a big write-up in the next school newspaper edition. You come along with us, and I'll give you equal credit in writing it. That should give you a good foot in the door, and..."

"Hold on a minute," Melanie interrupted her. They were nearing the cafeteria, and a boy in a wheelchair was pushing himself toward it from a side hall. Melanie bustled for the door and held it open for him. He gave her a warm smile as he pushed through. "I always believe in helping those in need," she informed Marti.

"I'm not surprised for a minister's daughter...over there, there they are," Marti pointed at a pair of girls approaching the end of the nearest table with lunch trays in hand. "Hey guys," she skipped towards them, "I'd like you to meet Melanie; she's new in town, and I made her promise to let us sleep over her place tonight."

"Without letting us meet her first?" asked one of the girls, who had long brown hair and deep brown eyes behind a pair of red-framed glasses, "You know I'd like to be able to judge..."

"Oh relax, Emily, Marti knows good people when she sees them. Hi," smiling, the other girl stepped forward and shook Melanie's hand. She had long curly black hair and green eyes, and was wearing a bright yellow sweater, an equally bright multi-colored neck scarf, and knee length brown boots. "I'm Sydney Matthews," she introduced herself, "And this is Emily Young," she gestured at her friend, bedecked in a red cardigan and white turtleneck, "Welcome to Shadyside."

"Good to meet you, Sydney. Good to meet you too, Emily," Melanie extended her hand towards the brunette, who shook it hesitantly. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"It's just...new girls usually turn out to be trouble here at Shadyside," Emily told her with a cautious expression, "Death and pain often follow them around, and poison everyone around them. But," her expression brightened, "If Marti says you're all right, Melanie, I guess I can trust you're all right; she can usually judge people right. You just stick with us, and you should be all right."

"She's the daughter of a minister; why wouldn't she be all right?" Marti laughed. "Sit here with me, Melanie," she eagerly gestured for her to sit next to her, "Like I said, I made Melanie promise we could all sleep over her place tonight, and she'll sleep over each of ours the rest of the week. And she's going to go skiing with us over the weekend too."

"Great, great, you're going to love it, Melanie," Sydney rubbed her shoulder excitedly, "But you have to promise we'll do the double black diamond runs together."

"Well, since it is my first time, Sydney, I'd probably want to start small..."

"Not like you have a choice, Melanie; you're talking to the world's greatest adrenaline junkie right here," Emily pointed at Sydney with a roll of the eyes.

"Hey, life's meant to be taken full advantage of, and I intend to take every advantage of it," Sydney proclaimed grandly.

"So you love thrills, Sydney?" Melanie asked.

"Name your thrill, I love it," the black-haired girl declared, "I love fast cars, thrill rides, wild adventures. This summer, I took up skydiving for the first time, and I want to do it again come summer. Maybe you'd be willing to come along too, Melanie."

"Uh...thanks, but I'll pass," Melanie shook her head.

"Well maybe I'll change your mind. I'm going to be a professional stuntwoman in the movies someday, after all, and all of this is a tune-up for that."

"And you can bet nothing's going to keep her from that," Emily rolled her eyes again. "I like keeping my feet firmly on the ground like you," she told Melanie, "I'm going to be a librarian like my mother-she's the head librarian in town. Just so long as it's not here in Shadyside, so I can sleep easily at night...what?"

"Oh, it's just a little funny seeing how you and Sydney are friends with such a different point of view on life," Melanie was chuckling.

"Well, I guess you could think that. But Emily and I have lived next door to each other all our lives, and I don't know what I'd do without her," Sydney smiled at the brunette.

"And yeah, I am grateful that you have been there for me all this time, Sydney," Emily managed a small smile of her own at her friend. "Anyway, to stay safe in Shadyside, there's just a few quick rules you have to follow," she told Melanie, "Stay celibate, stay out of places you're not supposed to be, and stay out of other people's business unless it directly concerns you. Do that, and you'll live a long and happy life here. So, is there anything we could do for you to help you adjust?"

"Well, I guess I'd like to know how to join whatever organizations help the community in town: Salvation Army, Helping Hands Society, anything that feeds the homeless. I like helping people, and I want to make a difference in town," Melanie told her.

Emily stared at her agape. "Are you for real?" she asked, "Nobody here ever thinks that much of others."

"Dad's always instilled in me the need to help those less fortunate. I want to make a difference in the world," Melanie insisted.

"I know a couple places you might fit in," Marti told her with a nod, "We knew a girl, Nicki, who thought like that. She just graduated last year, or else I'd introduce you to her. But she..."

But Melanie's attention was diverted to the cafeteria door. For a very handsome boy, with rich black hair and a bright grin, was entering. She stared at him passing by. "Hey Marti, who's that?" she pointed, unable to take her eyes off him.

"Huh? Oh, well, looks like you've got a good eye there. Rick Lewis happens to be one of the handsomest boys in our class," Marti looked past her at him with a smile, "Now I prefer his friend Patrick George myself," she pointed at another handsome boy whom Rick was sitting down next to, "But Rick's pretty good himself."

"But unfortunately, he's taken already, sorry," Emily shook her head, "He's been dating Rhonda Rouse the head cheerleader for a year and a half now," she pointed at the pretty girl down the table from Rick, whom he was now engaged in a happy conversation with, "And that's a very popular match that's not going to be broken up by anyone."

"Oh. Oh well," Melanie's shoulders sagged, "Well, I guess I could always dream."

"Well we'll find the right guy for you, Melanie, don't you worry about that," Marti assured her with a pat on her shoulder, "Anyway, there's an in-service day scheduled on Friday, so we'll have a three day weekend at the ski resort, plenty of time to get a great story for the newspaper. And you'll get to meet a couple other girls from some other towns we've been skiing with lately; one of them's the owner of the new resort, or at least her father is, so we're bound to get some extra bonuses staying there."

"Good, good. Thanks, guys, for offering all this to me," Melanie smiled at all three girls, "I was starting to feel I was going to be alone here in Shadyside all morning, so I can't tell you how much I appreciated the three of you wanting to be friends with me."

"What can we say, we're suckers for newcomers. You stick with us, Melanie, and we'll all make sure you fit in here in Shadyside real good," Sydney assured her with a smile, "And I guarantee you're going to love skiing with us."

* * *

The phone in the darkened room rang. He picked it up in a flash. "Hello?" he said softly.

"Greetings," hissed a raspy voice on the end of the line, "Just wanted to pass along, the police have formally announced Ernest Bishop is dead."

"I see. So the medical records were confirmed?"

"Yep."

"Well, I suppose that works out going forward," he conceded, "We are prepared to move forward, if that's what you want."

"Yes. You're near the ski resort?"

"I can see it just outside the window," he looked out to see the building gleaming in the distance, "But we should probably take it easy, if they think that..."

"We'll proceed at whatever pace I think is right," the raspy voice said firmly.

"Right. Also, we have a new recruit," he turned to a shadowy form next to him, "He wishes to join the family."

"He'll have to prove himself, like everyone else. Can he prove himself at the moment?"

"Yes," he can," he pressed the speaker button and turned to a closed door to his left. Loud bangs and muffled screams could be heard on the other side, "Our colleagues picked up a young lady with car trouble along the side of the highway two days ago. She will serve no useful purpose otherwise, so she can be used as a test."

"New recruit, you know what to do. I will be listening in; prove yourself," ordered the raspy voice. Taking a deep breath, the shadowy form hefted a large, sharp knife and entered the room. Horrific screams promptly rang out, lasting about a minute before all went silent. The figure behind the desk rose up and looked through the door. "The initiation is a success," he spoke into the phone's receiver.

"Wonderful," the raspy voice said without any emotion. "He was just hired at the hotel, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. He may start acting out the initiative as soon as he can."


	2. Chapter 2

"And here we are," Sydney declared grandly, pulling her car into the packed parking lot atop the winding mountain road on Friday afternoon, "Welcome to Devil Mountain, Melanie."

"And I'd wish they'd have come up with a better name that that," Emily muttered from the back seat, "That's just asking for something to go horribly wrong for us."

"Looks like a halfway decent place," Melanie remarked, looking at the impressively designed hotel looming ahead of them. She had been hooked by her new friends into looking forward to the trip, and by now was eager to hit the slopes. She climbed out of the car once Sydney parked it and stretched...

...turning at the sound of a crash not far away on her right. Several luggage racks had spilled out of the back seat on another car parked nearby once the two girls standing by it had opened the doors. "Hey, need a hand?" she bustled over.

"Uh, sure," the slightly tall girl, with thick curly shoulder length brown hair, nodded, followed by her long red haired companion, "We just over packed a bit, I guess, and when..."

"Hey, speak of the devil, good to see the two of you right off the bat," Marti came up, smiling again, "Meet Melanie, we met her earlier in the week and asked her to come along with us. Melanie, meet Carol and Roxanne Parker from Robertsville; we met them skiing a few years ago and we hang out with them each time we go out since then."

"Well, pleasure to meet you, Melanie," the taller girl, shook Melanie's hand as best she could with the latter's hand full of suitcases, "I'm Carol, there's Rox, and we're glad to go skiing with you."

"Nice to meet you too. Marti and the others got me really interested in skiing, so I hope it meets my expectations now," Melanie said with a nod of her head towards Emily and Sydney, unloading their own car.

"You won't be disappointed," Carol assured her, handing Melanie one more suitcase, "And since there's a lake here too, we found, you'll have to join us skating too. Rox and I like doing that too; we hope to be professional figure skaters some day."

"Maybe," Roxanne finally spoke up, closing their car's back door with her foot, "First order of business is to finally beat Carol down an extremely difficult trail; she's always beaten me so far, but this year the race is mine."

"Not this year, honey; Carol the Crusher can never be beaten," Carol declared teasingly.

"Well this year, Ravishing Roxanne's taking the prize."

"But first, you're taking this," Carol playfully put her sister in a headlock and rubbed her hair wildly. "No, no, Carol, stop, stop!" Roxanne laughed.

"All right, if you insist. Race you all to the hotel," Carol started galloping towards the building. "They seem nice," Melanie nodded to Marti.

"Yeah, you'll never find a pair of sisters closer than Carol and Roxanne," Marti grinned at the Parkers disappearing into the hotel, "All the time I've known them, they've been absolutely inseparable, never do anything apart. I don't know how they'll handle it when one of them gets married. Well, shall we check in?"

"Guess so," Melanie agreed. They joined Sydney and Emily in following the Parker sisters towards the hotel. "Strange, I'd thought Debbie have been here by now," Emily frowned, glancing back into the parking lot, "She does live closest..."

"Another friend?" Melanie inquired.

"Yeah, she comes skiing a lot too, so we've hooked up with her as well. Hopefully it's just that she slept in."

"Hmm," Melanie mused, her eyes locking in at the door. There was Rick Lewis, his arm around Rhonda the cheerleader, leading her into the hotel. "Oh, I didn't know he was coming too," she mused, staring longingly at him.

"He skies every now and then. Hey, don't give up hope," Sydney encouraged her, "Rhonda's not the nicest person, so..."

"Don't get her hopes up, Sydney, there's no way he break up with Rhonda, unfortunately. Good afternoon, Mr. Chase," Emily greeted the distinguished man behind the front desk in front of them.

"Well, Emily, good to see you again," he greeted her warmly, "And a new friend?" he noticed Melanie.

"Yeah, this is Melanie, she's new to town, so we asked her along," Marti repeated again, leaning against the desk, "She agreed to help me write an article for the school newspaper for the resort; is Sophie available?"

"I think we can arrange that. Sophie, honey, it's Marti and her friends," Mr. Chase called into the back office. Still another girl appeared, this one having long blonde hair like Melanie, although it was straight rather than curly and her eyes were brown instead of blue. "Hi," she greeted all the girls warmly, "So glad you could make it to our grand opening."

"Good to come. I'm Melanie; I'm writing an article with Marti," Melanie introduced herself, "We figured having a teen's eye view of the report would add a lot of color."

"Sounds great to me. I'll take you on a tour of resort...if it's OK, Dad," she turned to her father.

"I'm sure someone else can take care of the office work for the time being. Go ski with your friends," he urged her, adding a kiss to the forehead for emphasis.

"All right. Well, let's check you all in, and then we'll go hit the slopes," Sophie eagerly told Melanie and her friends, "I'll give you everything I can to help."

* * *

"So it's really your first time?" she asked Melanie several minutes later as they and Marti approached the ski lift, skis now on their feet.

"Like I told Marti earlier in the week, there's not much chance to ski in Nebraska," Melanie explained, "But I think I'm going to like it."

"I know it. Climb in and hold on tight," Sophie told her, waving her and Marti into a chair and pushing the lap bar down into place. "OK, first off," Melanie dug through her coat pocket and clicked on a tape recorder, "First off, what gave your dad the inspiration to build this resort?"

"He and I always enjoy skiing together, and he decided it was time we had one of our own. So you might say he built this resort for me," Sophie grinned in pride.

"Why did he choose here?" Marti chimed in with the next question.

"It was available for an easy price. There was an older ski resort here that burned down about a decade ago, so the market was still there. So most of the trails were still open, and only brief maintenance was needed to restore it."

"Do you have a favorite trail?" Melanie shifted around in the seat, staring ahead at the cars in front of them rising high towards the summit.

"Not really, at least not yet."

"What else can people expect to find here?"

"Oh plenty. There's skating on the lake not far from the hotel," Sophie pointed to it down below, "We have a full service restaurant, we have a bowling alley, we have an arcade, we're hoping to get a pool in eventually...oh, gotta point that out," she gestured at a large chasm below ahead of them, "That was an engineering marvel we pulled off, bridging that gap. We were able to get lift lines across that hundred and fifty foot gap, which the previous owners hadn't done before. So just be careful going over that; it's eight hundred feet straight down, so anyone who falls probably doesn't survive."

"No problem," Melanie leaned back in her seat, not wanting to risk acrophobia looking down at such a deep drop. In a minute, they'd reached the top of the mountain, where Emily, Sydney, Carol, and Roxanne were clustered together by the end of the lift, waiting for them. "Got a good interview?" the former asked.

"Yeah, a good one for starters, Emily," Melanie told her, glancing around, "Which trail are we taking?"

"Might as well start with the Evergreen Trail; it's only a circle green, so for a first timer, that should be good," Sophie trudged towards the nearest trail on their right.

"I really wanted to start with a double black diamond," Sydney lamented.

"We'll get around to it eventually, don't worry. That'll probably add meat to the article. But for this first one, how about this: last one down buys dinner for everyone else," Sophie offered.

"All right, a race, great," Sydney's face brightened. "Everyone take your marks," she announced loudly, waving the other girls up to the edge of the trail, "On your mark, get set, GO!"

She took off like a rocket. "Not this time you don't, Sydney Matthews!" Roxanne called out, pumping her arms hard to catch up. Melanie pushed off down the hill after the other girls, maintaining a decent pace. So anyway, tell us about the other trails on here," she asked Sophie, gently skiing alongside her.

"Well, we've got four easy trails, nine moderate, five difficult, and two extreme trails," Sophie informed her, "We hope to open more in the near future if we make enough money."

"What would you say to other high schoolers who'd want to come try it out here?" Marti zoomed on Sophie's other side.

"By all means come by. There's plenty to do, and we have a lot of skiing for both beginners and experts."

"Hey, you guys want to end up paying or what!?" Carol called from far below, where she was neck and neck with Sydney in the race to the bottom. "I've got you dead to rights!" she declared to the black haired girl.

"No, I've got you! More speed, more speed!" Sydney happily pumped her arms harder. "I think you're going to break a speed record, Sydney," Melanie called down with a smile.

"You only live once, Melanie, so you'd better live hard. Watch me go!" Sydney pumped towards a large mound of snow on the side of the trail and launched off it with an excited cry, doing a full spin upside down before landing on her feet. "Why not?" Melanie shrugged. She skied towards the mound and flew off the top, although she stayed upright unlike Sydney. A rush of air blew across her face, making her smile. This was fun indeed. She landed several feet down from the ramp...

...but suddenly ran into a bump in the snow and tumbled onto her face. "What happened?" she mumbled softly, stumbling onto her knees.

"Hey, you all right!?" Marti breezed to a stop next to her, concerned.

"Yeah, Marti, I'm all right," Melanie accepted the redhead's hand to be pulled up, "I just hit something..."

"Hey guys...!" Sophie spoke up behind her, and she sounded unnerved. Melanie turned...and gasped. For her impact with the mound had dislodged the snow from the top...revealing a dead body, with its glazed eyes staring straight up...


	3. Chapter 3

"Nice and easy, nice and easy," the resort's head of security told his men, gently wrenching the body out of the snow bank. "Captain, any ID on the guy?" he turned to the approaching police captain from the squad car parked nearby.

"We got the name Lloyd Bartow, he was a drifter," the captain told him, "Must have been killed somewhere else and dumped here, then covered up with snow; the killer must have figured by the time he'd be uncovered, he would have been decomposed enough to not be identified. Who found the body?"

"Those girls," the security chief pointed to Melanie and her friends, standing amid the large crowd that had gathered to watch the body being removed. "OK, girls, what happened?" he asked them.

"We were skiing, and I tripped over him," Melanie confessed in a halting voice. She turned her head away, unable to look at the body being carried towards an ambulance, "I didn't know he would be here..."

She choked up. "It's OK, missy, you did nothing wrong," the captain assured her, "Thanks for helping us find him. OK, lock and load," he shouted to the medical crew loading the body into the ambulance, "Let Norm at the morgue know he's got a fresh guy coming in to examine."

He trudged away. Its sirens blaring, the ambulance pulled away down the slope. Most of the bystanders started skiing away, but Melanie remained rooted in place. "I wish this were a bad dream," she moaned, lowering her head and shaking it.

"You and me both," Emily also looked pale and nauseated. "Sophie, how tight's security here at the resort!?" she demanded to the owner's daughter.

"Mr. Hunt leads a staff of about eight; they are fully trained in stopping armed intruders," Sophie pointed to the departing security chief.

"Are they authorized to take them out!? Anyone attacks somebody, can they...!"

"Emily, Emily, relax," Sydney put an arm around her friend and neighbor, "This was a random drifter that was dumped here; this might have just been drugs or a money deal gone bad. So why should we get worried?"

"It always starts with the peripheral people and gets closer and closer to you with each victim, Syd; you've seen it every time!" Emily wasn't placated. "You have a hotline to the cops that can bring them here in a heartbeat, right!?" she pressed Sophie hard.

"Of course, Emily, but Sydney's right, why should be worry about a random drifter without proof something else is going to happen? Now come on, last one still pays," Sophie turned and started back down the slope.

"No you don't!" Carol jerked forward after her, followed by the other girls, "You're not getting the edge on us, Sophie Chase...!"

* * *

Melanie couldn't sleep. The image of the man's dead body flashed before her eyes over and over again as she lay wide awake in bed, even though the clock on the nightstand read quarter to one in the morning. The wide eyes, the horrified expression, the frozen blood on his body; all ran wildly through her mind like a freight train running in a loop.

"How safe are we here!?" she thought worriedly, "What if Emily's right that there's a greater danger to us all? What if there's a murderer afoot...?"

She crawled out of bed quietly, trying not to wake the sound asleep Marti in the bed next to her, and trudged over to the window, pushing the blind aside. The mountain snow glowed white in the light of the ski trails' lights, and no one could be seen in their glow. And yet, Melanie couldn't shake the feeling someone was out there, watching. Shivering, she pushed the blind back shut again, trudged into the bathroom, flicked on the light, and slumped to the floor, burying her face in her hands. She would give anything to get the image of the dead man out of her head for good...

There came a creaking of the door behind her, making her turn. "Hey, you OK?" Marti was standing in the doorway behind her, looking concerned.

"Yeah, Marti, it's just..."

"The dead body, I know," Marti walked over and sat down next to her. "Want to talk about it?" she asked sympathetically, "You'll probably feel better."

"I guess so," Melanie took a deep breath, "My whole life, I've been taught to respect life, to value life," she began haltingly, "Maybe growing up in the church made me an extreme pacifist, I don't know, but...seeing somebody stabbed like that, it makes my stomach churn. Knowing somebody would be capable of that sort of violence, it worries me, it unnerves me..."

"I understand, Melanie," Marti put an arm around her, "Even with all the death and violence I've seen since moving to Shadyside, these things still make me a little queasy too."

"How can one town be that violent, especially among young people?" Melanie had to know, "I can't believe..."

"I've heard theories, but I'll save you the details. Hey, Melanie," Marti looked her right in the eye, "Like Sydney said earlier, this might have been just a one time murder, and we won't need to worry; if it's not, just know that I've got your back, Sydney and Emily have got your back, the other girls have our backs. We stick together, we should be fine, and I'm sticking with you, I promise. We're the M & M's, and we stick together."

"M & M's...oh, I get it," Melanie laughed, "Thanks, Marti. Oh, and I've said it before, but I have to say it again, thank you so much for taking me in as a friend this week," she told the redhead, tears of gratitude flowing down her cheeks, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate that you've wanted to be there for me so much, how much you've gone above and beyond to make me feel welcome here..."

"Hey, come here," breaking into a warm smile, Marti pulled Melanie into a warm hug, "Didn't I say I was the new girl once, so I know how you feel? Whatever I can do to help you adjust, I'm glad to do. Besides, I really like you, Melanie Haddix. My whole life, I've wanted a sister so bad, and you're exactly what I wanted her to be...not to mention you're one of the kindest and most caring girls I've ever met. If everyone in Shadyside wasn't so scared of newcomers, I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to be friends with you."

She held the hug for a good two minutes before releasing Melanie. "Feel better now?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks, Marti," Melanie wiped her eyes dry.

"You need to talk about anything at all, any time, I'm right here," the redhead assured her, rubbing her shoulder, "Ready for bed now?"

"Wish I were, but I'm still wide, Marti," Melanie admitted.

"Well, let's work on our newspaper article then," Marti waved her out of the bathroom, "More we get done now, the less we have to worry about later."

She flicked on the overhead light, opened up her laptop on the desk, and turned it on. "What do you think we should begin with, 'There are six well-regarded ski areas within a fifty mile radius of Shadyside, but the newest one surpasses them all,' or 'There is a new heavenly ski resort within easy driving distance of Shadyside, and its name is Devil Mountain?" she asked the blonde.

"Hmm...I'd have to go with the latter one," Melanie offered, grabbing her robe off the table and slipping it on, "It has a more amusing effect."

"OK, we'll run with that," Marti activated her typing program on the laptop and sat down at the desk, "There is a new heavenly ski resort within easy driving..."

Suddenly, they heard it: a loud crashing sound directly across the hall, followed by an ear-splitting scream. Both girls exchanged a horrified gaze. "Carol and Roxanne...!" the redhead exclaimed in terror.

"What are we waiting for!?" Melanie burst out the door in a flash, Marti right on her heels. "Carol, Roxanne, are you all right!?" she cried, grabbed the knob to the Parker sisters' room directly across the hall from theirs and yanked it hard. It refused to move, and it was then two screams rang out at once inside the room. "Carol, Roxanne, open up, please!" she begged, throwing her shoulder into the door.

"Let go of me!" Carol screamed inside, her footsteps rushing for the door. The knob jiggled hard, right as Carol started making gasping sounds, as if she was being choked. But the door had been opened. Melanie threw it opened. "Let go of her!" she shouted at the dark mass that was dragging Carol away from the door, its hands around her throat. Without thinking, she rushed the person and rammed whoever it was in their chest. The person released Carol and retreated, leaving her gasping wildly for air. Marti rushed past her, a chair in hand, towards another figure that was standing the nearest bed and swishing something downward towards a screaming Roxanne. Marti swung the chair at the figure's back, making them back off. She swung again, but was pushed to the ground by the first figure, who jumped threw the room's window with a loud shattering of glass. The other figure did the same. rapidly disappearing into the darkness; indeed, Melanie lost sight of them when she approached the window. "You all right!?" she rushed to Carol, still gasping in the corner.

"I...I think so...!" Carol whimpered in a terrified voice, "I don't know how...!"

"CARROLLLL!" came Roxanne's petrified shriek from her bed. "I'm here, Rox, I'm here!" Carol rushed to her sister and hugged her hard, "You all right!?"

"I was so scared, Carol! How'd they get in here!?" Roxanne wailed. The light blazed on. "Oh God!" Marti gasped from the switch, and Melanie had to grimace herself to see both of Roxanne's cheeks bleeding. "What happened, you two!?" she rushed towards the sisters.

"I don't know! I was sound asleep one moment, and the next, my face was being smothered with a pillow!" Carol howled miserably, "I rolled away and saw the other guy attacking Rox, and tried to get to her, but he cut me off and started choking me out...bless you so much!" she flung her arms around Melanie, "If you and Marti hadn't heard us, I don't know what would happened...!"

"Did you recognize either of them!?" Melanie asked.

"No! It was pitch dark, and I couldn't make out any of their faces; Rox?"

"No!" Roxanne buried her face in her hands and sobbed, "Oh God, I was sure I was dead, Carol...!"

"So did I, Rox, so did I," Carol broke away and hugged Roxanne hard again, "Let's get to the hospital wing; I can tell you need it; call security," she informed Melanie and Marti, "See what they can find. Can we stay with the two of you tonight afterwards?"

"Sure, Carol, our door's open for the two of you," Melanie agreed. She watched the Parker sisters limp out of the room, disappearing through a crowd of hotel residents that had gathered outside at the sound of the struggle. She turned to Marti with a worried expression. "I don't think it was an isolated killing we saw earlier, Marti..."

* * *

"What do you mean they just disappeared!?" Emily incredulously asked Sophie the next morning inside the hotel's restaurant. "They jumped through a plate glass window; they had to be bleeding everywhere! Security should have been led right to them!"

"There was a trail of blood, Emily, and they followed it, but it vanished into thin air halfway to the road," Sophie told her grimly, "It's like they just disappeared right then and there."

"Well if they were bleeding that much, they probably fell down dead eventually," Marti reasoned, taking a bite of her cinnamon roll, "So maybe we don't need to worry."

"Just next time, wake us up too," Sydney asked her with raised eyebrows, "I'm glad you and Melanie saved the day, but I want to help out if there's excitement."

"Are you nuts, Syd!? You actually would have wanted to take on murderers one on one!? You're crazier than I thought!" Emily threw up her arms in disgust, "To think I...!"

"Guys, guys," Melanie held up her hand to stop them. She turned to Carol and Roxanne next to her, slumped forward in their seats with numb expressions. "Any idea how they got in?" she asked them.

"How should we know!?" Carol howled, putting her face in her hands, "It was pitch dark...!"

"Well the only way in and out of any rooms at the hotel would be the air ducts," Sophie pointed out, "But I heard Mr. Hunt saying the one in Carol and Roxanne's room wasn't bent down. So I have no clue how they got in."

"I did hear a pair of thumps that woke me up," Roxanne spoke up, "I was going to examine it, but the guy started attacking me before I could," her hands went to her taped-up cheeks.

"Did anyone come into the room beforehand? Anyone who could have given made their way in easier?" Melanie pressed.

"Uh...wait, about a half hour before we turned in, one of the maids came in," Carol remembered, "She said she wanted to give the room another look over to make she didn't miss anything from earlier. She asked if we could step outside while she worked, but was only in about five minutes before she got a call and had to leave."

"What did she look like?"

"Brown hair, glasses..."

"Sounds like Carla," Sophie mused out loud, "We just hired her last week, but she never seemed dangerous to me."

"Well, it sounds like she could be a suspect either way," Marti nodded softly, "What's her schedule?" she asked Sophie.

"I don't know it offhand, but I might be able to get it to you. So you know, it would have to be under the table," Sophie told her with a firm look, "I don't want to do anything that would get Dad mad at me, or anyone else in trouble..."

"Well, just do whatever you can that's legal; I don't want you or anyone in trouble either," Melanie assured her. She took a deep breath, "And how did they just disappear when they were bleeding all over?" she mused out loud, "We'll have to go out there and take a look ourselves."

"Wait, wait, no, I am not tempting fate with this!" Emily waved her arms wildly, "You may just not know any better, Melanie, but investigating these things always gets more people killed, no matter how well-intentioned the searcher is!"

"But Emily, if people's lives are at stake, it's wrong to just stand aside and not do anything," Melanie told her, "I have some doubts too, but God's word is to help those in need, and..."

"Please don't drag God into this! The last thing...oh God!" Emily's eyes had turned to the nearby TV screen. Melanie turned to it as well, to see a commentator saying, "...victim, seventeen year old Deborah Yanowsky, was found in a ditch by the side of the road, having been slashed and stabbed repeatedly. Police have not found any fingerprints on the body, and refuse to comment on what the motive might have been..."

"Debbie..." the brunette moaned, sliding down in her chair, "That's why she never showed up! I should have known...please, I'm begging you, Melanie, don't do this!" she begged her, "This is going to get closer and closer to us, and I want to live a full life!"

Melanie closed her eyes and thought it over good. "I'm sorry, Emily, but the greater good's at stake here, especially if those guys come back to attack more people," she said firmly, making Emily howl in grief, "Sophie," she turned to the other blonde, "See if you can find Carla the maid's schedule. I'd like to take a look inside her room or office."


	4. Chapter 4

"Just about ready, it looks like," Marti remarked, noting Sophie talking with a somewhat agitated Carla the maid around the corner by a service door.

"This is a mistake, I just know it," Emily griped, "She's going to figure out it's a trick in a heartbeat, and we're all going to be in big trouble."

"Well, looks like it's working," Melanie remarked, noticing the maid tramping down the hall with a disgusted expression. Sophie bustled over to where the other girls were standing. "OK, you've probably got about ten minutes," she told them with a nervous expression, "So make it quick down there, Melanie," she turned to her, "And try not to let anyone else see you. Her office is left at the bottom of the stairs, third door on the right."

"I'll be as quick as I can," Melanie told her. "The rest of you watch the door; give me a heads-up if she comes back," she told her friends.

"We've got your back, don't worry," Sydney promised.

"All right," Melanie took a deep breath and bustled over to the door to the hotel basement. She cautiously opened the door and looked down the stairs. No one was visible coming up. In a flash, she slipped through and zipped down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom and flattened herself worriedly against the wall, hearing a cart being pushed by, but to her relief, the staff member kept going down the hall past the stairs. Sighing in relief, she waited until the sound of clanking had died away before leaped down to the basement floor. She looked both ways and saw no one. Her eyes zeroed in on the door Sophie had mentioned. She rushed for it and slipped inside.

The room was thankfully deserted. A few shelves of cleaning items were along the walls, and a closet where civilian clothing could be hung up while at work, where all that kept it from being a cold concrete closet. Melanie cautiously approached the closet and scanned for anything that might seem out of the ordinary. And then she noticed it hanging out of the pocket of a coat in the middle of the rack: a metal box with the name CARLA ANTHONY-which Sophie had said was the maid's full name-emblazoned on the top. Melanie hesitantly reached for it, but stopped. Was it really right to do this, she wondered to herself? This would be very much intruding in someone's private affairs...

 _"I know, but more people could be attacked if I don't,"_ she reasoned. With a nod, she pulled the box out of the pocket, sending a key clattering to the floor. Grabbing it, she turned it in the box's lock and thrust it open. "Let's see," she mused, digging out several newspaper clippings. Several teenagers were shown in photographs on all them. SERIAL KILLER CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM blared the biggest headline atop the largest clipping. Melanie stared grimly at the article, about a young pair who were snatched off the street and tortured before being killed. A chill went up her spine. For the maid to apparently be interested in this sort of news...

She laid the clippings aside and dug out the paper underneath. She could tell it was a drawing of the hotel-she recognized its dimensions. Several rooms had Xs on them-and one of the seemed to be the room Carol and Roxanne had been staying in. "What are you doing here?" she mused softly, lifting up another stack of newspapers-and gasping to see a gun underneath. "Oh boy," she mumbled softly, "This looks..."

"Hey!" an angry shout from the door made her heart freeze. And indeed, Carla the maid stood in the doorway, a scowl on her face and her hands on her hips. She must have found out she'd been led away quicker than expected, Melanie realized with a rush of horror.

"What do you think you're doing!?" the maid declared, "And what are you doing down here!?"

"I, uh, well, got lost, and I thought, uh..." Melanie stammered for an alibi, trying to cover up the papers.

"Put my things back in there right now, or else!" Carla started towards her, her hands reaching out for Melanie, "Snoopers who try and...!"

"Stay back!" in a flash, Melanie grabbed the gun and aimed it at the maid, bringing her to a stop in her tracks, "You touch me and I'll shoot!"

"I don't think so," the maid seemed calm, "I don't think you're going to do that."

"Don't think I won't!" Melanie shouted more bravely than she actually felt, her fingers gripping the trigger, "If you attacked Carol and Roxanne last night, don't think I won't hesitate to...!"

"Oh, so you were the girl that saved those two?" Carla inquired.

"Yes, I am, and...what are you doing!?" Melanie demanded as Carla walked backwards and closed the door, "I'm warning you, if...keep your hands out of your pocket there, I...what's...what's that you've...?"

Carla had reached into her pocket and was pulling out something large and felt. "Detective Patricia Walton, Shadyside Police, Undercover," she opened it up, revealing a glittering gold badge, "And please stop shouting; my cover could be blown if you keep screaming like that."

"The police...let me see that," Melanie approached and stared at the badge. Sure enough, it looked real. "So you are a cop," she conceded, lowering the gun, "I see, I saw all that," she gestured at the open box, "And I guess I thought...I'm sorry, I could have...I almost shot you..."

"I don't think so. You don't seem like the girl to do so. And besides," Walton took the gun off Melanie, aimed at the floor, and pulled the trigger, getting only a loud click. "My cover works better with no bullets in the gun. Now who are you and what are you doing snooping around in here!?" she gave Melanie a stern glare.

"My name's Melanie Haddix, and I'm trying to find out who attacked my friends Carol and Roxanne Parker last night, like you said. They said you'd come into the room earlier in the night..."

"I see. Well, if you promise to keep a secret," Walton walked to the door and listened in for a moment before explaining, "I was checking to see if there was anything suspicious in the room. I didn't see anything then, but I guess I was wrong."

"Have...Have people been attacked here before?" Melanie asked with a shudder. Walton let out a low sigh of resignation. "I've been working on a very important case here, Melanie," she told the girl slowly, "If you promise not to share with anyone other than your friends, and to let me take care of business, I'll tell you what I know."

"OK, I promise." Melanie nodded.

"And that you won't try and interfere with my investigation!?" the detective gave her a sharper glare.

"OK, promise."

"All right. Please, sit down," Walton waved Melanie into a chair. "For a year and a half, I was part of a team assigned to chase down the serial killer Ernest Bishop," she began, "There've been lots of killers in Shadyside in the eight years I've been on the force, but he was the most vicious of all, with a particular bent for attractive young women. He'd snatch them off the street, torture them, then murder them horrifically.

"I saw," Melanie gestured at the newspaper clippings on the floor, "I can never understand why some people would do that; my father's a minister, and he raised me to respect life..."

"I see. You seem like a sweet girl deep down," Walton gave her a small smile, "Bishop stayed one step ahead of us no matter what we did to try and bring him in, and his victim list kept getting larger and larger. We suspected he'd attracted a following, and disciples were helping him kill. And then it got personal for me..." tears welling up her eyes, she dug a small photo out of her other pocket and stared grimly at it. "Is that your son?" Melanie asked, glancing over her shoulder at the boy in the picture. Walton let out a loud sniff of grief to confirm this. I'm so sorry," Melanie told her, putting her hand on top of the detective's, "I can't imagine how horrible it must feel to lose a child."

"It was," Walton wiped at her eyes, "It was a clear message at me to back off. I almost went over the edge hunting him down; the captain pulled me off the case for a while until I got my head back together. Anyway, we finally did catch Bishop, and he was convicted and sentenced to death. And he got it last week when the prison wagon transporting him to death row crashed and burned; they just finished the autopsy and confirmed him dead. But a lot of his followers were still at large, and there've been similar style murders all along the highways near the resort. I've been assigned to investigate whether any are hiding out here, and it looks from what happened last night that there is."

"Do you have any leads who it is?" Melanie asked.

"I'm sorry, but that's classified police information; I'm not putting any innocents in harm's way," Walton's stern glare returned, "And I want you to promise not to investigate anything here, Melanie; I don't want you or any innocents endangered here. Do you swear it!?"

"Well..."

"Melanie, this is not a book or movie; being a detective here is very dangerous. I want you to promise to leave this to me."

"Um...OK, I promise again," Melanie nodded softly. There came a knock on the door. "Hey Carla, what's going on in here?" a porter stuck his head in the door, "Ed wants to see you about...what's she doing in here!?" he noticed Melanie seated in the room.

"Uh...she got lost in here, and wanted to know the way to the dining room; I was going to show her the way out," Walton explained quickly.

"Oh. This is a restricted area for a reason, young lady," the porter gave Melanie a frown, but withdrew his head and walked away. Walton quickly bent down and locked her personal possessions back in her box, then stuffed it back in her coat pocket and zipped it shut. "Remember your promise, Melanie," she warned the girl again.

"Don't worry, I know the value of a promise," Melanie stressed. "But, also, if you need someone to talk to, about your son, I'd be glad to listen, when we're alone, of course. I've gone with my father on grief counseling sessions, and I'm pretty good at it."

"I appreciate the offer, Melanie; you really are a very caring girl," Walton managed a larger smile now, "Come on, let's get you out of here."

* * *

"Ernest Bishop, huh?" Marti shivered on the ski lift, "I remember him well. I breathed a big sigh of relief when they announced he was dead. He took the lives of a couple of girls I knew: Janie, for instance. He grabbed her off the street after a pep rally and drove off with her before anyone could react. I can't even begin to guess what he did to her, but when they found what was left...it had to be a closed casket funeral in the end."

Melanie shuddered at the thought. "Don't forget poor Ellie either," Sydney remarked grimly on her other side, "She might have survived by leaving a trail for the cops to come right to Bishop's hideout, but it's clear she's traumatized for life from what he did her before they got there. She still hardly says a word anymore, and I can't blame her."

"Yeah, I know, Sydney. And if any of his cohorts are hiding out here, we all could be in big trouble," Marti agreed, "So we've got to stay real vigilant going forward."

"But nothing says we still can't investigate. Just because you promised the cop you wouldn't mess with her investigation doesn't mean we can't look around separately," Sydney goaded Melanie.

"A promise is a promise, Sydney, I have to stay out of her way," Melanie insisted.

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure? And if the police are here, we're halfway safe already!" Sydney insisted, "We'll play it safe, we won't endanger ourselves or anyone, I promise."

"Well...I don't know, I really don't," Melanie put her hands in her face. A promise WAS a promise, but deep down she didn't want to just stand aside and risk any lives. What was the right thing to do...?

"Heads up, here we are," Marti alerted her to the fact they were approaching the top of the hill. Emily, having taken the chair ahead of them, was already at the summit. "I still want to do it easy," the brunette insisted to the other girls once they'd stepped off the lift.

"No way; it's double black diamond time. Time to go for broke," Sydney countered.

"Syd, I'm not ready for that yet, and Melanie's not ready yet..."

"Well we're be there; come on, say we can try and extreme run," Sydney pressed Melanie.

"Uh..." Melanie glanced around...and saw Rick Lewis and apparently some of his friends preparing to go down one of the moderate trails to their left, "I'd like to go down that one next."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Marti grinned at the boys disappearing down the slope, "OK, we'll try that one next...and see if we can catch up to them," she turned the grin towards Melanie, "Maybe if you're face to face with him, you can tell him how you feel..."

"Oh, no, Marti, I couldn't..." Melanie blushed nervously.

"Come on, let's go," the redhead led her to the top of the slope. "Race to the bottom again, guys," she told the other girls.

"All right, but the next one we take is a double black diamond course," Sydney insisted, taking her place at the starting point, "Ready, set, go!"

All four girls pushed off at once. Melanie pumped her wrists hard, trying to get enough speed. Rick and his friends were in sight ahead-and Rick seemed to be dropping a little behind the other boys. "You can do it, Melanie, you can talk to him," she told herself.

"There you go," Marti encouraged her, "This is going to be..."

Suddenly, a sound like thunder roared behind them. "What was that!?" Melanie spun around in shock.

"I'll give you a hint: AVALANCHE!" Emily screamed, pointing up at the sudden wave of heavy snow barreling down the slope. "Get off the trail everyone!" she shrieked to her friends, diving for safety behind the nearest tree alongside the trail, which was out of the path of the snow. "Everyone off the trail!" she screamed down the path. Screaming themselves at the sight of the oncoming snow, the other skiers in sight frantically jumped out of its path to safety. All, that is, except...

"Rick!" Melanie cried out to the boy, who she now could see had headphones over his ears, music likely blocking out the rushing snow behind him. In a flash she pushed off down the trail, oblivious to Emily's, "Melanie, no, get off the trail!" Pushing her arms hard, she managed to cover the distance to Rick in about ten seconds, even with the thunder of the racing snow getting louder and louder behind her. "Rick, look out!" she cried again, finally pulling alongside him as he started to finally turn and see the oncoming avalanche. Melanie shoved him hard into a ditch off the trail, safely out of harm's way. Before she could do anything else, however, the wave of snow caught up to her and bowled her off her feet, and in a flash she was covered completely with it, plunged into a silent white cocoon...


	5. Chapter 5

The rumbling sound of the snow stopped around Melanie, who was pinned flat on her back with a roof of snow pressing down on her from above. All was now deathly silent. And she was already starting to feel light-headed. Her air was starting to run out quickly.

"Don't panic, Haddix, whatever you do," she begged herself, terror at being buried alive nonetheless starting to rise inside her, "Don't do anything to waste oxygen. And don't just lay back and accept this."

She raised her right hand as far as she could and started scraping against the snow above her, not sure how deeply buried she was. She then maneuvered her left hand up to grasp hold of the crucifix around her neck. "Holy father, who art in heaven, help your servant in her hour of need," she prayed softly, "Come, Lord Jesus, protect your daughter with your mercy. Come Holy Spirit, and breathe hope into a situation where there may seem to be none. Amen."

She listened hard. Still no sound could be heard around her. And breathing was getting more difficult now. "Lord God, have mercy and protect the mortal life of your humble servant, when she wishes to do your good works in the world," she whispered, squeezing the crucifix harder, "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, please save your holy daughter..."

And then she heard it: shovels scraping nearby. And the snow was starting to crumple to her right. "Over here," she croaked towards it, then glanced up and mumbled, "Thank you, Lord." More snow was shoveled away. "Here she is!" a voice called out, "Get some oxygen, quick!"

Strong hands too hold of Melanie and pulled her out of the snow. An oxygen mask was pushed over her face, sending much appreciated air into her lungs. "Thanks, I'm good," she told the rescue crews dragging her to a gurney, "Rick...?" she glanced around and saw him on the edge of the applauding crowd, unharmed and watching her with a dumbfounded expression. At least he was safe, and that was all that mattered, she thought in relief. Her mind turned, though to the avalanche. Had it been natural, or had someone deliberately set it off? Those bangs she'd heard beforehand sounded quite ominous indeed...

* * *

"Looks like you're all good, miss," the resort doctor told her about fifteen minutes later inside his office within the hotel, "I guess you're good to go."

"Thanks for everything," Melanie thanked him, sliding down off his table, "How about anyone else that the snow might have...?"

"Well, we'll do what we can with them, don't you worry about that," he said quickly, turning back to his folders on the nearby desk. Melanie gulped, knowing full well that meant she was possibly the sole survivor of the avalanche. "Well, have a good day," she told him, bustling out of the office. "Hey, good to see you," Marti was waiting for her out in the hall. She gave Melanie another hug, "You looked OK when they dug you out, but I just wanted to make sure."

"I appreciate it, Marti. Was anyone else hurt?" Melanie asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately, yeah," the redhead nodded grimly, "Two skiers dead, another practically dead. So count yourself really lucky, Melanie."

"I see," Melanie tapped her crucifix and mouthed, _"Thank you, and please have mercy on their souls,"_ skyward. "Where's everyone else?" she asked Marti.

"Having lunch in the restaurant; since you seemed basically all right, they told me they'd wait for you there."

"OK, let me go back and get out of these ski clothes and we'll join them," Melanie turned and walked down the hall towards where she knew their room was. "I'm wondering about that avalanche, Marti," she told her friend worriedly, "Those bangs we heard before it didn't sound right."

"Yeah, I heard them too. That could have been planted dynamite," Marti looked just as worried, "I think we've walked into something big here, Melanie, and wherever we go from here, we'd better be really careful. Anyone who'd set off an..."

"Shh," Melanie caught her arm and brought her to a stop. A cleaning cart was parked in front of Carol and Roxanne's room across from theirs, and a familiar not-really maid was disappearing into it. "Into our room, quietly; we'll listen in and see what she finds," she whispered to Marti. Marti nodded and quietly pressed her room card into the slot. She and Melanie slipped inside, pushed the door almost all the way closed, and listened through the small crack. "...didn't see or hear anything until they were attacked," Patricia Walton the cop was muttering to herself, fortunately loud enough for the girls to hear clearly, "OK, they didn't come in the window with no prints on the sills...air ducts are intact, they didn't push that down to come in...there has to be a secret way in somewhere. But where? Check the walls...or is it the floor? One thing at a time..."

Thumps rang out; the policewoman was testing the walls. Melanie could not hear any hollow sounds. Eight separate raps rang out before footsteps came up the hall. "Hey Carla, what's taking you so long!?" another woman called impatiently into the Parker sisters' room.

"Oh, uh, there's some bloodstains I'm trying to scrub out," Walton called back.

"Well hurry up; you're late for the staff meeting the boss scheduled. He wants you A.S.A.P.," the other woman said firmly.

"All right, all right, I'm coming," Walton sighed. Melanie softly pushed her door all the way closed so Walton wouldn't know she was listening in. She waved Marti to follow her back away from the door. "A secret passage makes the most sense if there's no sign of forced entry anywhere," she said softly to the redhead, unzipping her coat.

"Same here," Marti nodded in agreement, "That would explain how the attacker got away so quickly; he or she probably found another tunnel somewhere. Which means," she glanced worriedly around their room, "Maybe they've been watching us all the time. We better check the walls and floors ourselves at some point to make sure.

"Couldn't hurt, I guess. And we can ask Carol and Roxanne to have us take a look inside their room as well," Melanie laid her snow pants on her bed, then grabbed her high tops from the floor and started lacing them up, "That way we at least have some cover if they're in with us. Let's go meet up with them; I'm starving by now."

* * *

"Go in there again!?" Roxanne grimaced around the dining room table, "Honestly, I'd rather not, Melanie, not after what went on in there..."

"I understand, Roxanne, but could you at least let us go in?" Melanie asked her, looking up from her menu, "We can find..."

"You promised the cop you'd stay out of it, Melanie, you promised!" Emily upbraided her with a frown, "You're really tempting fate if you go ahead with investigating this!"

"Hey, we're helping the police, Emily; what they can't find, we'll find for them. They can take all the credit if they insist. Count me in," Sydney eagerly leaned across the table towards Melanie, "I want in on the adventure..."

"Everything has to be an adventure with you, Syd; sometimes I swear you're impossible!" Emily threw up her hands in disgust, "You have no clue what you're jumping into!"

"I'm living my life to the fullest; perhaps some of us should think the same way," Sydney said defensively.

"I think living my life to the fullest is staying alive, which is not easy in Shadyside when some people insist on pushing their luck!" Emily glared back and forth between Sydney and Melanie. "They'll be coming after us in no time if we give them reason to! God, I already wish I could just go home now...!"

"Well, sorry, looks like that's a no," Carol declared, staring at the TV in the corner, "Looks like those two snowstorms to the west of us just merged. They're calling for blizzard conditions over the next day here."

"Of course, I knew it!" Emily groaned, staring at the screen, which was calling for at least fifteen inches of snow for their location, "This was guaranteed to happen; now we'll be good and trapped up here, and then the killer'll really go to work on us all!"

"Emily, you're not going to die. I've got you're back, everyone's got your back, I promise," Melanie assured her, taking her hand, "I defend my friends to the end."

"Promises mean nothing in the face of killers, Melanie. If you lived here long enough, you'd no that there's no stopping...!"

"Uh, excuse me a minute," came a boy's voice behind them. "Oh, Patrick, hello," Marti broke into a huge smile to see the boy she had a crush on standing there, "What brings you over here?"

"I've been sent with a message: Rick Lewis wants you to come over to his table," Patrick turned to Melanie, then pointed. Melanie's heart started pounding. "Rick does?" she turned to follow Patrick's finger and saw Rick staring towards her. "Well, uh, OK, I'm..."

"Go get him," grinning, Marti pushed her gently to her feet. "And incidentally, we wouldn't mind having some company ourselves here," she told Patrick dreamily. Melanie paid no attention to the rest of the conversation, her eyes darting nervously to the floor as she approached Rick's table. "Hey there," his voice said, even though she was staring at his feet, "Glad to see you're OK."

"Thanks, Rick, I, I appreciate that you're concerned for me," she stammered, rocking from side to side.

"Hey, why so worried?" he bent down to her level to look her in the eye, "Sit down," he gestured at the chair across from his. Melanie plopped down in it and forced herself to look up at him. "So you know my name," he was smiling at her, "I've seen you around this week; you're the new girl, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm Melanie, Melanie Haddix," she told him, her fingers twitching.

"Melanie. That's a really pretty name for a girl to have," he mused, the smile deepening, "I want above all to say thank you for today, Melanie. You saved my life on the slopes, pushing me out of harm's way of that avalanche."

"D-Don't mention it, Rick," she rambled quickly, "I mean..." she took a deep breath, "Helping people's what I like doing."

"And I appreciate what you did for me," Rick reached across the table and took hold of her hand, "I owe you a big debt."

"No, you don't have to do anything, Rick. Knowing you're all right's enough of..."

"No, no, I insist. I'm going to make this up to you somehow, some time, Melanie, I promise," he told her. He picked up his menu, "And I'll start by buying you dinner. What would you like?"

"Uh," Melanie picked up her the menu on the table in front of her, "Well, I guess the chicken finger basket'll be good."

"OK, I'll let the waiter know when he comes by," Rick lowered the menu and stared warmly at her. "Did anyone tell you how pretty you are, Melanie?"

"Rick, stop, don't," she blushed heavily, "My mom tells me I am, but I..."

"Well, take it from me, you're very, very beautiful," he told her, "And don't ever let anyone tell you any different."

"Oh Rick," she mumbled, excited that he now seemed to think highly of her.

"So tell me about yourself," Rick leaned forward towards her, "Where were you from that started with an L?" he noticed the large white letter on her varsity jacket.

"Lawrenceburg, Nebraska," she pointed to it, "I tried out for track and field my freshman year. I gave up after one year-it really wasn't what I'd expected-but I kept the jacket. I like wearing it anyway; it just feels like me."

"It gives you a nice, sweet look," he told her, "What do you like doing?"

"I want to be a writer some day. I'm working on a book, although I don't know how good it is. Marti McClure over there asked me to join the school newspaper with her; we're writing a piece on the hotel for it," she turned and laughed to see Marti and the other girls watching her with the same amusing lovelorn expressions at their table. "I like reading too; I'm probably happiest to curl up in a chair, slip the headphones of my CD player on, and tune out the world to popular music while I read a good book."

"Sounds neat," seemed genuinely impressed, "Well, if Marti and the others haven't told you, things can get a little rough in Shadyside at times, but if you're careful, you'll probably like it here-chicken finger basket for her, club sandwich for me," he told the approaching waiter, "And two large sodas."

The waiter nodded and walked off, writing the order down. "Well, anyway, I'm the football team's quarterback," Rick told Melanie, "We made the playoffs this past year; farthest we've gone since I've known. You attend games back in Nebraska?"

"A couple, yeah. It was a nice place to go with friends on a Friday night."

"So what brought you here to Shadyside?"

"My dad got transferred to the parish here. He's a minister, and I've helped him out in the church as long as I can remember."

"So you're a religious girl, huh?"

"I try and let Jesus's teachings guide me. There's no greater gift that helping those in need, Rick, as he taught. Good works make the world go round."

"You're a lot different from most of the girls in Shadyside," he mused softly, "Sex seems to be what makes their world go round-lots and lots of wild sex."

"I...I see you go out with Rhonda Rouse..." she said, her spirits sinking.

"Well, yeah, but I'm open if someone better comes along," he smiled at her, "Girls who clearly have hearts of gold like you do have good chances, Melanie. You know, just like that, I'm already really liking you a lot."

"Thank you, Rick, I've...I've thought you were really handsome from the time I first saw you, and...well...this past week, I've dreamed of being face to face with you, and..." she couldn't finish, to overwhelmed by the fact he seemed to care deeply for her.

"Well, glad to know you like me," he was smiling deeply, "How about you and I go for a ski together later on today, when we..."

There suddenly came a strangled cry from behind them. Rick spun around in a flash. "Rob!" he gasped at the sight of one of the boys at the table behind them toppling to the floor with his mouth foaming, "Rob, what's going on!?"

He rushed over to the other boy. Melanie rushed after him, hoping there was some way she could help. But it was already too late: with one more agonized howl, the boy went still, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Rob, Rob, don't scare me like this!" Rick cried, leaning over the boy, "Don't...!"

"Forget it, Rick, he's gone," another boy shook his head sadly, looking stunned. "Get the doctor!" he shouted to the nearest waiter. Melanie slumped to the floor, stunned herself. Had the killer just struck again? And if so, how this time...?


	6. Chapter 6

"Nice and easy there, Doc," Mr. Chase grimly told the hotel doctor, sliding Rob's now sheet-covered body onto a gurney, "Put him on ice until we can call his family."

With a shake of his head, he strode towards the security chief. "Mr. Hunt, lock down the kitchen at once; I want the entire staff questioned and the food tested before we serve anything else. Something's going on here, and I want it stopped immediately."

"As you wish, Mr. Chase. I'll get to the bottom of this," Hunt turned and bustled out of the dining room. With a sigh, Mr. Chase now walked over to his daughter, standing with Melanie in the corner and watching the gurney being wheeled out. "Sophie, honey, I want you to be extra careful here going forward," he told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I think this is dead serious what's going on."

"Yeah, I can tell, Dad. Don't worry, I'll be careful," Sophie assured him. Her father forced a small smile and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before exiting the dining room. Sophie turned to Melanie with a scared look. "If they've poisoned the food, this is something big and coordinated," she mumbled out loud, "And with this blizzard starting," she gestured at the heavy snow now falling outside the dining room window, "there's no way we can send anyone away. I don't know what to do now."

"Well, we can at least see how they got into Carol and Roxanne's room. Tell the other girls to meet me there; we'll search for a secret entrance after I have a few last words with Rick," Melanie turned to her left, where Rick sat slouched over his table with his face in his hands, being comforted already by Patrick.

"I hope we're not putting ourselves in any danger here, Melanie," Sophie looked uncertain, but walked briskly towards the other girls, clustered around the door to the hallway. Melanie walked towards the sniffing Rick. "Rick, I'm so sorry," she said softly, "The last thing I wanted was to see..."

"No need to be sorry, Melanie; you didn't do anything wrong," Rick reached over with one hand and patted her wrist. He sat back up and wiped his eyes, "So long, I've avoided all the deaths here in Shadyside, but now...I've known Rob since we were six, and now, just like that..."

He sniffed again. "I know, pal, it's breaking me up too," Patrick said sympathetically, patting Rick's shoulder, "We should have known we couldn't avoid the curse of death here in Shadyside forever."

"Who would do this!?" Rick all but shouted, "Rob never hurt anyone...!"

"If you need someone to talk to, Rick, I'll listen any time," Melanie offered him, "I'm good at grief counseling, and I..."

"Rick, I heard the news," a new voice rang out. Melanie turned and recognized Rhonda Rouse rushing towards their table, "Is Rob really...!?"

"Yeah," Rick choked, wiping his eyes again, "Poisoned and keeled over dead. Where have you been all this time?"

"Bowling game downstairs; we went into...who is this!?" Rhonda frowned at Melanie.

"This is Melanie Haddix; she's the new girl. She saved my life when the avalanche hit; I was having lunch with her until Rob..." Rick hung his head in grief.

"I see. Well, thanks for saving him," Rhonda told Melanie without making eye contact with her, "I don't know what I'd do without Rick. Anyway, you promised we'd play some tennis together on the indoor court, so let's get ready; I've reserved a six o'clock appointment for us," Rhonda told Rick, taking his arm and hauling him upright.

"Without telling me? Rhonda, my good friend just died; I don't feel up to it right now...!"

"But you promised we would! Come on, Rick, I put so much into this!" Rhonda all but whined. Rick sighed softly. "All right, but let me get some things together first in my room," he mumbled. He turned once more towards Melanie. "It was wonderful to meet you, Melanie," he smiled warmly at her, "I'd still like to go skiing together once the storm stops."

"I would too, Rick. Hope you feel better soon," Melanie smiled back. She walked towards the doorway, where, by now not surprisingly, Marti was waiting for her. "He doing all right?" she asked Melanie.

"Decently, but it's clearly hurting him a lot," Melanie looked back at Rick exiting the room in the opposite direction, "I told him I'd be willing to talk with him if he wanted."

"You know, I think he really likes you," Marti rubbed Melanie's shoulder with a huge smile, "I could see it in his eyes. You really did good if you won his heart. Now I just wish Patrick would let me win his," she stared sadly at Rick's friend as he followed Rick out of the dining room.

"Well, you never know," Melanie assured her, an idea cropping into her mind that she hoped to bring to fruition later. "Anyway, we'll look through Carol and Roxanne's room to find a secret entrance," she told Marti, turning and walking up the hall.

"Yeah, Sophie said so; the others should be there now. What do you think we'll find?" Marti asked, sounding a little worried.

"Hopefully just the answer, and not..." Melanie was abruptly cut off as a hand suddenly came down on her shoulder and spun her around. "All right you, I don't know who you think you are, but listen and listen good," Rhonda glared in her face, cold fury in her eyes, "Rick is _my_ boyfriend, and I will not stand for anyone trying to cut in on him with me!"

"Hey, all I did was save him from being crushed from the avalanche, and he asked to have lunch with me to say thanks! I don't see what the problem is!" Melanie protested.

"I'm warning you, little miss sunshine, stay away from him, or you'll regret it like you won't believe!" Rhonda warned her, thrusting a finger in Melanie's face, "Because if you force me to retaliate, you're not going to like it!"

"Hey back off, Rhonda!" Marti shouted, "Like Melanie said, she's not trying to...!"

"And you mind your own business, Martina," Rhonda pivoted and thrust the finger into Marti's face, "Because I'll bring you down too if you don't."

"My name is _Marti_ , if you don't mind," the redhead frowned.

"Oh, so sorry, _Martina_ ," Rhonda snarled contemptuously, "So this is your only warning: lay off Rick, or there's be pain, and lots of it!" she warned both of them, "You'd better take me dead seriously!"

She turned and stormed away. "Jealous little jerk," Marti muttered in disgust, "If Rick said he's open to moving on from her, Melanie, I can't blame him."

"Well, I don't want to break up a relationship," Melanie mumbled.

"Melanie, if she's acting like this over you simply eating with Rick, their relationship deserves to collapse as far as I see it. Don't worry about her; she's probably just blowing hot air. Let's go see if the others have found anything yet."

* * *

"Nothing yet," Sydney called from the bathroom once Melanie and Marti had entered the Parker sisters' room, pounding on the bathroom wall, "If there's a secret entrance here, it's pretty well hidden."

"Nothing under the bed, either," Sophie called, halfway under the one Carol and Roxanne were seated on, staring around with worried expressions. "You two doing all right?" Melanie asked them.

"I'm not really comfortable being in here again, Melanie," Roxanne said with a shudder, turned to look at the back wall, as if expecting a menacing figure to come through it by magic, "After everything that happened..."

"I'm not all that comfortable either, Rox, but we're safe with everyone else here," Carol gestured at all the other girls, "So don't worry, nothing's going to happen to us now," she put a reassuring hand around her sister.

"I hope not," the younger Parker sister sighed nervously. "Anything?" she called into the bathroom again.

"For the second time, no!" Emily snapped back, sticking her head out from behind the shower curtain.

"All right, there's no need to shout!" Carol barked back.

"Sorry, but I don't approve of us doing this, and I really think we're wasting our time trying! If we haven't...!" Emily suddenly let out a loud shriek, followed by the sound of metal scraping...and then something lumbering out of place. "Emily? Did you find...?" everyone else right behind her, Melanie rushed into the bathroom, and found herself staring at the large hole in the back of the bathtub wall, a dark space clearly visible beyond it. "How'd you open it?" she grilled Emily, stumbling around on the bottom of the tub.

"I don't know; I just slipped on some standing water and grabbed the shower head. I guess that must be a trigger on this end," Emily scrambled onto her knees and adjusted her glasses. "Yep, that must be how they got in," she mused, staring at the large square in the wall.

"Well then, we know what we've got to do," Melanie took a deep breath and climbed into the tub.

"Not on your life!" Emily shouted, jumping out of the tub, "If I go down there, I know I die first, probably from a decapitation from behind or something horrible like that!"

"Well I'm going down," Sydney eagerly jumped into the tub herself, "This is one adventure I'm not missing out on."

"You're insane, Syd, as I've said a million times already on this trip! As I said, count me out!" Emily folded her arms across her chest, "And if something horrible happens to you down there, don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Have it your way, but if we solve this whole mystery, don't feel bad that you missed out on the fun," Sydney shrugged, "Anyone else?"

"Sorry, Rox and I don't want to risk it," Carol shook her head, followed by her sister.

"That's all right, Carol; you, Roxanne, and Emily can keep watch up here, covering our backs," Marti entered the tub herself. "Sophie, you should come too; you'd probably know your way around the hotel better than the rest of us," she told the owner's daughter.

"Well, I guess so," Sophie acceded. She squinted into the darkness. "I think I see a ladder heading straight down," she declared.

"But is it safe!? And what are you going to do for light!?" Emily inquired.

"Uh...flashlights in the rooms?" Melanie asked Sophie.

"Nope, sorry," the other blonde shook her head, "Guess we'll have to use cell phones for light."

"All right then, here we go. We'll be back in a half hour if we don't find anything," Melanie told Emily and the Parker sisters. With a deep breath, she crawled through the hole and started down the ladder. "Look, a release lever," she announced to Marti, climbing down after her, pointing the to lever on the wall, "That's how they activated it."

"I see," Marti nodded, "What is this place?" she activated the flashlight feature on her cellphone and aimed it around the shaft they were descending in.

"Wait, I think I recognize it. I'd heard there were several coal mines underneath the mountain that were abandoned over the years," Sophie spoke up above the two of them, "This must be one of them. Yeah, this explains how they got into the room with no one noticing, and probably how they got away with a trace; they probably found another shaft entrance and escaped through that."

"Well, that makes it easy then; just follow whatever bloody trail we can find down here, and we'll see exactly where they went," Sydney let out a playful evil laugh at the top of the ladder. "Can you see the bottom yet, Melanie?" she called down to her.

"Yeah, I think I can, Sydney; it's right under me now," Melanie could see the floor right under her feet. She stepped off the ladder onto the muddy passageway, and stepped back to allow the other girls to get off the ladder. She turned on her own cellphone's flashlight and aimed it around. They seemed to be at a junction in the mine, as four tunnels branched off from near the ladder. "Any idea which way we should go?" she asked her friends.

"Not a clue," Marti frowned at the various passageways around them.

"Well, the majority of the hotel's back that way," Sophie pointed to the right, "So it stands to reason they came from this way when they attacked Carol and Roxanne. So we just need to find where they entered the mine at."

"Yep, looks like there's a lot of footprints coming this way," Sydney aimed her cellphone at the floor, where a mess of footprints heading towards the ladder could be seen. "And..." she bent down and squinted at some dark splotched amid the footprints, "Yep, there's dried blood here, guys. And from the tapering of the marks, they were headed this way," she pointed up the direction Sophie had noted.

"All right, but let's stay close to each other; no telling who if anyone might be in here, and we don't know if there's any holes or anything," Melanie told them. Aiming her cellphone flashlight's beam ahead at the floor, she and the others slowly advanced up the tunnel, their footsteps echoing loudly against the wall. "Sophie, who would have known this was down here?" she asked the other blonde softly, not wanting to risk a cave-in if the walls weren't stable.

"I have no idea; someone would have had to have gotten the old mining maps and tracked the old mines' locations to know," Sophie whispered back, apparently having the same idea, "But they probably could have gotten that easily enough at the county historical society headquarters. And if they knew where the mine was, it would be pretty easy to cut entrances in at night during construction when the crew had gone home, and no one would notice. I hope we don't have to stay in here too long," she visibly shivered in the darkness, "This place gives me the creeps..."

"Well, once the threat over, why don't you and your dad make something of it?" Sydney suggested, "Make it a haunted attraction guests can enter to be scared stiff in. And while I'm at it, consider adding base jumping or hang gliding off the top of the mountain; that would be a nice extreme thrill that would bring in big..."

"Sydney, shhh, I think I hear something," Marti hissed, bringing the black-haired girl to silence. And Melanie heard it too: what sounded like a low howl that quickly cut off somewhere further up the shaft. A cold shiver ran up her spine, one that got colder at the sound of footsteps running towards their location in the dark. "Turn off your lights!" she hissed at the other girls, "And up against the wall, and be quiet!"

The four of them rapidly switched off or covered up their cellphones' screens and flattened themselves against the wall. And not a moment too soon, for a dark form that Melanie could just barely make out came huffing up the tunnel in the darkness. She sucked in her breath as it rushed by, too quickly for her to notice anything other than just a vague outline of whoever it was, not enough to even ascertain which sex the person was. The figure stopped and looked back once it passed her and her friends, making her heart freeze at the thought it might have heard or seen them, but to her relief, it turned and continued running away. Melanie waited until the sound of the person's footsteps had vanished completely from earshot before stepping back out into the middle of the tunnel and switching her cellphone back on. "Could any of you recognize whoever it was?" she asked her friends.

"Not a chance, Melanie, sorry; it was way too dark. That was a close call, though," Marti shuddered at how close they'd come to being caught.

"Too close, to be honest. If Emily had come down, we'd never have heard the end of it: 'We were no more than ten seconds away from death, thanks to all of you!'" Sydney imitated the brunette, starting back up the tunnel, "You see, I'm not a person with a death wish, even though she seems to think...ooooowwww!" she yelped as she bumped into something, "Now what would be hanging down here that...!?"

"Sydney...!" Melanie trained her cellphone upwards and gasped. Hanging from the timbers above the tunnel, freshly dead, was a man wearing a cook's uniform. "Sophie, who is it...?" she asked the owner's daughter.

"Ed Jones, we hired him for the kitchen just earlier this week," Sophie mumbled, looking nauseated, "If it was him that poisoned the food, I..."

"Wait, you guys hear that?" Marti interrupted again, sounded scared. Melanie heard it too, and saw it when here eyes spun to the left and right: sparks moving towards cylindrical objects on both walls. "Dynamite!" she cried, "Run for it!"

But no sooner were the words out of her mouth than loud bangs and fiery flashes of light rang out. Melanie hit the tunnel floor hard and crawled towards safety, but an avalanche of rocks crashed down on her, rapidly burying her for the second time on this day...


	7. Chapter 7

The rumbling of rocks thudding to the floor slowly abated above Melanie, and the tunnel became silent again. Her heart was pounding worriedly. She felt all right, but was everyone else...?

She slowly rose to her feet, sending rocks tumbling off her. "Marti? Sydney? Sophie?" she called out worriedly for her friends, not wanting to shout too loudly and risk another cave-in.

"Over here, Melanie," came Marti's voice to her right. Melanie could just make out the redhead's form in the darkness. "You all right, Marti?" she rushed over to her.

"My legs are pinned, but I'm all right; get these rocks off!" Marti asked her. Melanie groped around in the dark for the rocks and slowly pushed them off. "Hey, need a hand?" an apparently unharmed Sydney's voice rang out behind her, followed by a cellphone screen blazing on.

"Yeah, give me some light here too, Sydney," Melanie waved her over. The black-haired girl helped her pushed the rest of the rocks off Marti's legs. "Can you walk, Marti?" she asked, taking Marti's arm and helping her up.

"Yeah, nothing feels broken, thank God. Dah, look at this though," Marti wiped mud off her clothes with a disgusted look, "Brand new jean jacket and jeans, ruined just like that! Where's Sophie!?" she looked around worriedly for the other blonde.

"Over here, guys, help!" came Sophie's worried shout from the other side of the tunnel. Melanie followed the swinging gaze of Sydney's cellphone to see Sophie largely buried under a large pile of rocks. She rapidly rushed over and started straining hard. "You must have been caught in the heaviest part of the blast; these are real heavy," she groaned, straining but having no luck in pushing the rocks away.

"My ribs hurt," Sophie was grimacing heavily, "Hurry, this weight is horrible on my chest!"

"We're...trying...Sophie..." Marti grimaced herself, pushing with the other girls on the rocks. "I don't know if we can do this!" she lamented, slumping down, "Somebody needs to go get help...!"

"Hey, look!" Sydney pointed backwards. Melanie saw it too: flashlight beams around the corner of the tunnel. "Is anyone down there?" came the voice of Mr. Hunt the security chief.

"Over here; we have a girl trapped under rocks!" Melanie called to him. A thunder of footprints came towards their location. "Ahhhh!" another security guard gasped at the sight of the dead body hanging from the ceiling, "Ed!? What happened to him!?"

"We heard him gasping for air, came down here, and saw him dead before the dynamite went off," Melanie explained, still straining on the rocks pinning Sophie down, "Give us a hand here."

"One side, young lady," Hunt pushed her aside, "Good thing you heard the bangs, Carla," he called to Walton, who was standing at the back of the knot of people now surging forward to release Sophie.

"I am too, Bill. You girls come with me, we'll get you out of here," Walton waved Melanie and the others to follow her up the tunnel. The three of them trailed after the undercover officer for about a hundred yards, them climbed another ladder into what Melanie recognized as a meat locker. "So that's how he got in," she mused.

"Outside, please," Walton looked stern, waving her and her friends outside. She glanced around the kitchen to make sure they were alone. "Are any of the rest of you hurt?" she asked softly, pushing the meat locker's door closed behind them.

"Not really, thank God. Marti's legs ache, but..." Melanie began.

"I told you to let me handle this, Melanie. What were you doing down there!?" Walton gave her a brutal, piercing glare, "You promised me you would not play detective...!"

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry. We found the secret entrance in Carol and Roxanne's room, and felt we had to see where it went," Melanie confessed, lowering her head.

"I see. Where was it?"

"In the bathtub; you have to pull on the shower head to open it."

"I must have been pulling it the wrong way," Walton mused to herself, "Thank you for finding it, but from now on, I'll be the only one doing searching here," she gave the girls another harsh glare, "Because if you get involved in my investigation again, I'll have no choice but to arrest you, am I clear!?"

"Hey, we're just having a little adventure, and we did just give you a tip on...!" Sydney started to protest. A stern scowl from the policewoman, however, made her go quiet and mumble, "OK, OK, it's your case."

"Melanie?" Walton gave her another look. "Yes, we promise, for good this time," Melanie nodded.

"I'm really going to hold it to you this time," Walton warned her. She sighed and slumped against the nearest stove, "But since you know as much as you do, might as well tell you I'd suspected Jones of being a Bishop recruit. This probably proves it; he must have gotten into an argument with another Bishop disciple down there, and he hanged him."

"We saw a figure run by in the tunnel, but it was too dark to make out clearly who it was," Melanie told her.

"I have an idea; one of Bishop's top agents was Tony Major, and hanging his victims was his specialty," Walton said with a shake of the head, "I almost got him a year ago, but he slipped away. Now I know he's here-and God knows who else. I guess I do owe you girls some thanks," she cracked a small smile, "I probably would have searched forever for that secret entrance. Now I know how they've been moving around, and what to look for in other rooms. But again, I want you and your friends to stay absolutely out of it from here on, or..."

Suddenly the hotel's fire alarm sounded. "What's this now?" Marti frowned, "Is this with...?

"I don't know, but it could be. Come on," Walton waved them out of the kitchen and up the stairs into the dining room. Staff members were rushing across the room with fire extinguishers. And Melanie noticed one familiar figure running in the door the staff was running out of: Emily. "Guys, your room's on fire!" she cried, rushing towards them, "Carol and Roxanne and I heard it burning, smelled the smoke, and...!"

Without listening to another word, Melanie took off running in the direction of hers and Marti's room. Rounding the bend, she could see the large flames shooting into the hall despite the staff firing foam from their extinguishers into the room. "Did you see anyone start it, or leaving the room!?" she asked Emily when the brunette slid to a stop next to her.

"No! I'm not about to run into a burning room!" Emily protested, "And Melanie, even if they say this was an accident," she fixed the blonde with a serious glare of her own, "Don't think for one minute this wasn't deliberately set. Somebody knew you and the others went down there and set this fire as a warning."

"We...We saw somebody rush by us in the tunnel; he could have doubled back and started it," Marti mumbled, watching steam start to replace the smoke under the steady stream of the fire extinguishers. "Looks like that's it," a porter declared, "All clear."

"How bad...?" Melanie cautiously approached the doorway. The room was blackened, the beds reduced to ruins. "Oh boy," she mumbled softly.

"Looks like a lot of damage," the porter mused. "Don't worry, miss, we'll get you and your friends another room," he assured Melanie, "We'll tell Mr. Chase to get you the best available to replace this one."

* * *

"Wow, this is really great," Sydney exclaimed, walking through the deluxe multi-bedroom suite she and the other girls had been granted, "How much does this usually run for, fifty thousand a night?" she asked Sophie, standing by the doorway.

"Well, not quite that high, Sydney, but it's the best we had available. Glad you like it," Sophie nodded in satisfaction, "Anyway, my dad said I could sleep in with you guys tonight, if that's OK."

"Sure is, Sophie, we're glad to have you," Melanie spoke up from the window, watching the snow pour down in buckets now. She turned back at the sound of Sophie grimacing. The other blonde was taking painful steps into the room. "You sure it's not just one cracked rib, Sophie?" she asked her worriedly.

"That's what the doctor said. Sorry I won't be skiing with you guys the rest of the week," Sophie winced with each step, one hand on her chest. She fought her way to the bed and plopped down on it. Heavy guilt swept through Melanie. "Sophie, I'm so sorry," she mumbled, sitting down next to her, "I wouldn't have gotten you hurt if I hadn't insisted on going into..."

"Hey, it's not your fault, Melanie," Sophie absolved her, "How could any of us have known they'd have dynamite wired up in there? If there's...what are you doing?" she frowned at Emily, who was bracing a chair against the room's door.

"Nobody comes into this room tonight, I've got to make sure of it!" Emily said as much to herself as to Sophie, jiggling the door into place, "I might not have found any secret entrances so far, but I'll have to check again to make sure...!"

"Emily, no one's coming in. And there's safety in numbers," Marti pointed at the other girls around them.

"Yeah, there's safety in numbers, but I..." Emily was cut off by a knock at the door. "Go away!" she shouted with a nervous look.

"It's Carol; can Rox and I come in?" the older Parker sister asked.

"Sure thing, Carol," Melanie gently pushed Emily aside and opened the door for the sisters, who had their bags slung over their shoulders. "Mind if we join you all for the night?" Carol asked again, "Rox and I agreed we didn't want to be all alone in our wing."

"Sure, sure, make yourselves at home," Melanie nodded. Carol dumped her bag on the floor. "You guys all right?" she asked the other girls, "Rox and I were a bit concerned."

"Basically...Emily!" Melanie couldn't help snapping as the brunette started barricading the door again, "Emily, we are not going to be invaded in here!"

"You still don't get it, do you!" Emily snapped back, straining to push the dresser towards the door, "Once the warning comes, the close deaths start! And I could be first for all I know! I told you that you were pressing your luck going into that tunnel, Melanie, and now we're marked girls! Now, they're going to be coming for us, and nothing we can do will stop them! You'll probably be the last one standing, so you'll have some time, but right now, I'm as good as dead as far as I know...oh God, I know I'm dead now...!"

With a loud sob, she slumped to the floor, buried her face in her hands, and started crying hard. "Emily, you're not going to die, I promise," Melanie slid down to the floor and put an arm around her, "I'll stand in front of you if someone comes for us and take a knife or worse for you if it comes to that."

"Thank you, but once one girl starts investigating, the others around her die; it happens all the time, and no one can save the victims!" Emily moaned, wiping at her eyes, "Nothing can save me now...!"

"No, Melanie's right, Emily. I'll take a bullet or knife for you too," Sydney sat down on Emily's other side and put an arm around her too, "You're my sister in all but blood, Emily, and I'll die before I'd let anything terrible happen to you."

She hugged Emily hard from behind. Count me in too," Marti sat down with them as well.

"And, well, I guess Carol and I too, right?" Roxanne plopped down with them too, and looked up to her sister for affirmation.

"Absolutely," Carol joined them.

"And me too," grimacing, Sophie did as well. "See, Emily, we're all in it together. Friends stand by each other to the bitter end, and I'm so glad to consider you a friend," Melanie told the brunette sympathetically, "We'll all be there for you, and I hope you feel the same way."

"Well, yeah, I do appreciate you guys a lot," Emily managed a small smile. Thanks," she told the other girls, "I appreciate you all care so much."

"You're a special person, Emily Young, and I wouldn't want to consider anyone else my best friend," Sydney rubbed her shoulder, "Nothing's going to happen to you as long as there's an ounce of life in my body."

"Right. Everyone, hands in," Melanie extended her hand out among her circle of friends. The others all took hold with their hands. "With this, we solemnly swear as sisters to protect each other to the bitter end," she announced, looking among the others.

"Amen," they mumbled at once. For what seemed like an eternity, the seven of them sat still in the middle of the floor, silently maintaining the hold on each other's hands. Finally, a large blast of wind against the window made Melanie look up at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, it's about quarter to midnight now. Guess we might as well turn in for the night," she said.

"That late already?" Sydney glanced at it herself in surprise. "Oh well," she unzipped her boots and tossed them into the corner, "Might as well hit the sack, then. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"What big day? It's going to be a blizzard all day tomorrow?" Roxanne frowned.

"Exactly, Roxanne; we make the best of a snow day. Coming, Emily?" Sydney helped her neighbor to her feet.

"Yes-but we're leaving the light on, Sydney, and that's final," Emily said firmly, "I am taking no chances of anyone sneaking up on us while I'm sleeping."

"Oh come on, Emily, you know I'm going to be right there to protect you if anyone shows up."

"The lights stay on, Syd, end of story," Emily put her hands on her hips.

"OK, we'll sleep with the lights on. See, I'm reasonable; I put my best friend's wishes ahead of my own," Sydney patted Emily on the shoulder. "Besides, I like new experiences anyway," she bustled into what would be hers and Emily's bedroom, fiddling with the knot to her neck scarf. "Any of you guys see or hear anything, scream as loud as you can; I want advance warning," Emily begged her friends.

"Promise, Emily. Try and sleep well," Marti encouraged her. Emily gave a small smile, then followed Sydney into their bedroom. "Come on, Rox, we'll take the floor in their room," Carol told her sister, hefting a blanket and pillow. Good night, everyone," she told the remaining girls, bustling with Roxanne after Sydney and Emily. "And I'll take the sofa in the living room area, if that's OK," Sophie told Melanie and Marti, "Don't you worry; I asked the security chief to watch the hall outside like a hawk. We're good and protected, so don't worry. Sleep well."

"You too, Sophie," Melanie bade the owner's daughter good night. She plopped down on her bed with a sigh. "What a day," she mused, kicking off her high tops.

"You're telling me," Marti agreed, unlacing her sneakers and tossing them on top of Sydney's boots, followed by her jean jacket. You doing OK, Melanie?" she asked her friend.

"Well, yeah, basically, Marti, it's just..."

"Want to talk again?" the redhead knowingly slid a few feet down on the bed and patted the mattress to gesture Melanie to sit next to her. Melanie obligingly plopped down on the bed. "Maybe, once the blizzard's over, and the roads are clear, we should just go home," she said softly, shaking her head, "I just feel horrible knowing Sophie got hurt in the tunnel. Maybe it isn't my fault, but I was still bent on investigating what was going on." She sighed and put her head in her hands. "I just don't know, Marti. Maybe I am endangering all of us, and if you or the other girls get hurt from here on, I don't know how I can live with myself. So maybe we should bail while the bailing is good. I don't know. What do you think?"

"Tough decision, yeah," Marti admitted with a slow nod, "I can see why you'd think that. Well, it's your call, Melanie. If you think we should stay, we'll stay; if you think we should go, we'll go. Just know I've got your back either way, and won't be upset no matter what you decided."

"I know. You're the best friend I could have asked for, Marti," Melanie smiled at her.

"You know it," Marti rubbed her shoulder warmly, "Like you just said, we all stick together here to the bitter end."

She stretched and got up. "Problem is, with all this snow, it's going to take a while for the roads to be cleared," she mused, staring out the window.

"How much now?" Melanie joined her.

"At least ten inches, far as I can see," Marti frowned at the deepening snowdrifts, "So let's hope nothing else dire happens while we are here, stay or go."

* * *

"Yep, those nosy girls I told you about were in the tunnel," the figure said into his phone in the darkness, "They got out mostly unharmed this time, but just say the word, and we'll take them out."

"What about Jones?" hissed the raspy voice on the other end.

"He proved an incompetent fool, was too obvious with his machinations. Everyone there's suspicious now. So I took him out of the equation to limit the damage."

"I see. I prefer doing that myself, but I see. I'm calling everyone I can; they'll get there at their fastest convenience. With the resort snowed in under the twenty inches they're calling for, we can really do well now. And as for those pesky girls, yes, you have my unfettered permission: slaughter them all good."


	8. Chapter 8

Melanie stretched as she woke up. She turned towards the window, where the glow of early morning could be seen. She turned again to the clock on the nightstand: seven thirty-two. It had been a better night's sleep than she'd initially thought she'd have, and it looked like it had been the same for her friends, as Marti in the bed next to her and the others elsewhere in the suite were still asleep. She exhaled softly. Now came the tough part: she still hadn't decided whether to continue investigating or back off...

Just then she heard it: a loud humming that sounded very much like a drill. She shot upright in bed and stared at the wall. Sure enough, something metallic broke through. Gulping, Melanie rolled out of bed to the floor, stumbled rapidly into her clothes, the rushed over and thrust her finger through the hole in the wall. There was a growl, and a figure could be seen through the hole stumbling away, clutching a hand over his or her eye. The person took off running. Melanie threw the door open. The peeper, though, dressed entirely in black, had gotten a good head start and was almost at the end of the hall already. Melanie froze up, wondering if she should follow after the peeper, but after a moment's hesitation nodded firmly and took off running after the figure. There came another crash and howl around the corner. When she reached the end of the hall and turned, she saw the figure had cut themselves against a large plate glass laying against the wall and cut themselves, thus leaving a trail of blood on the floor behind them. Melanie thus dropped back, letting the figure disappear into the distance. She then bustled after the blood trail, hoping someone else with security or the general staff would join in the pursuit. The lobby, however, has largely deserted when she reached it, with the only bellboy wheeling a loaded luggage rack into the elevator across the hall, and the night desk clerk on the phone in his office. Neither would have noticed the man, and neither turned when Melanie shouted to them. She sighed and continued pursuit of the trail of blood. It went through a partially open door into the downstairs service area, which she was able to slip through. She rushed down the stairs and followed the blood down the hall into the deserted washing room...

...but came to an abrupt end in the middle of one row of running washers. Melanie frowned, glancing around. Where did the intruder go, she wondered, glancing hesitantly into the nearest unused washing machines. There was no sign of any human presence in the room, and no blood on any of the machines that would have given the person's location away. She squatted down and glanced around the corner of the row, wondering if the person was stooped down out of sight...

...when a rough hand grabbed her from behind and jerked her to her feet. Melanie spun and let out a scream at the sight of the figure, its head obscured with a ski mask but with angry eyes visible through it, right behind her. Before she could run, the figure clamped a hand over her mouth, pushed her up against the nearest washing machine, drew a huge knife, thrust it against Melanie's neck, and slashed hard...

* * *

...at which point Melanie bolted upright in bed with a scream, breathing heavily and with sweat pouring down her face. She glanced around the hotel room, which was pitch dark. She spun to the clock on the nightstand: two twenty a.m. "Just a nightmare," she whispered softly, for her scream had not awoken Marti or any of the other girls, she saw, "Better make good and sure, though..."

She climbed out of bed and started checking around the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and no one else was in the room, but Melanie still had the feeling she was being watched. She rushed to the window and glanced outside. No one could be seen through the heavily swirling snow, which was drifting practically up to the windows now. Melanie breathed a sigh of relief...

...only to cry out again when there was a soft knock on the door. She rushed towards it. "Who's there!?" she hissed softly through it.

"It's me, Rick," came his voice on the other side, "Are you all right, Melanie?"

"Oh, oh. Yeah, Rick, I'm fine," Melanie whispered back. She fumbled around on the desk for one of the room's code keys and slipped outside. Rick was standing outside in the hall, alone as far as she could see. "What are you doing here, Rick?" she asked him.

"I heard about what happened down in the tunnels they found under the hotel, and the fire in your old room, so I got from the staff you were here now, and, well, felt I owed it to keep watch over you for tonight," Rick explained to her, "I heard you scream and worried for a moment that..."

"No, just a nightmare, thank god," Melanie explained, "You didn't have to do this, Rick..."

"No, I do. Like I said earlier, I owe you for saving me, Melanie," Rick put a hand on her shoulder, a warm smile crossing his face, "I don't want to see anything bad happen to you, because you're a real special girl. I haven't stopped thinking about you all day. Everything you said about kindness and helping others, it really stuck with me. To be honest, I haven't lived the best of lives," he looked regretful, "I've drank hard, had wild sex, broke a few traffic laws. I guess being the starting quarterback gave me a feeling of entitlement. After everything you've said earlier, I've started to feel like I've been squandering my life, and I need to redeem myself. I figured making sure nothing happened to you was a good start, especially after pointing me in the right direction. I want to help, I want to be a better person. I hope this is helping."

"It is, Rick, it is," she smiled back at him, "Admitting your sins is the first step to getting your life on track. And if you're determined to make..."

"Hey!" came an upset shout from up the hall. A pajama-clad Rhonda was storming towards the two of them. "I've been pounding on your door all night, Rick!" she upbraided him, "What are you doing here!?"

"I'm watching out for Melanie and her friends, Rhonda; someone might be...!" Rick started to protest.

"You!" Rhonda spun to Melanie, "I warned you not to try and take him away from me! I know what your little game here is! Well Rick is mine, as I made perfectly clear, and you're going to pay now!"

"I am not trying to take him away, Rhonda; you're getting paranoid!" Melanie uncharacteristically found herself shouting at the popular girl.

"Rhonda, this isn't the time; go back to bed!" Rick tried to push her away.

"Not unless you come with me; let's go! Come on, Rick...!" Rhonda seized her arm and tried to pull him away ignoring the loud shouts from adjacent rooms to be quiet.

""Rhonda, let go of me!" he pulled his hand away with a furious glare, "If this is the way you're going to act, than I have no qualms about ending whatever relationship we still have right now!"

"What's going on out here!?" a bleary-eyed Marti stuck her head through the door.

"Stay out of this, Martina!" Rhonda bellowed. "Like I said, you're going to pay for poisoning his mind!" she bellowed at Melanie, and abruptly decked her hard in the face. Melanie stumbled to the floor, but quickly rose up. Growling, Rhonda, reared back to swing another punch, but Marti burst from the doorway and grabbed her wrist in midair. "Hey, leave her alone, you jealous snake!" she shouted.

"Let go of me, or you're in trouble too!" Rhonda yelled, trying to pull her hand loose.

"Security, down here!" Rick waved furiously up the hall. Melanie noted three security guards rushing up the hall, being directed by other guests who'd now spilled out into the hall. With a roar, Rhonda abruptly shoved her back to the floor and raised her fist to strike her again, but the guards grabbed her and pulled her away before she could. "Cool it, missy!" one of them warned her.

"She assaulted Melanie; we'll press whatever charges apply!" Marti shouted, extending Melanie a hand to help her up.

"Don't worry, miss, we'll make sure she can't bother you again. Come on, back to your room," the guard told Rhonda sternly, leading her up the hall. "And by the way, now it is over, Rhonda!" Rick shouted at her, "I don't date jealous psychos!"

"You want me a psycho! You haven't seen psycho yet! I'll get even with all of you for this!" Rhonda threatened them before she was dragged out of sight. "You OK?" Rick asked Melanie, concerned.

"Yeah, it just stings," Melanie rubbed her cheek, "I'll be fine."

"I don't know what I ever saw in her now," Rick muttered contemptuously up the now empty hall, as the bystanders had filed back into their rooms. "Well, I found someone better, someone a lot kinder and nicer," his smile returned, putting his arm around Melanie.

"Yep, you can't do better than Melanie, Rick," Marti added with a grin.

"Marti!" Melanie gave her a playful shove, blushing. "Well, I guess I'm all right now, Rick, so I guess Marti and I'll go back to bed," she told him, "Thanks again for being our guardian angel, though."

"Mind if I come in?" Rick offered, "If you'll feel more comfortable having someone with you..."

"Well, OK, I guess that would be fine. But no sex, Rick," she held up a finger, "I'm chaste and would like to stay that way till I'm married."

"No problem there, Melanie. All Rhonda ever wanted was lots and lots of sex with me, and after a while, one gets burned out from it. So don't worry," he assured her.

"What's all the shouting out here?" it was Sydney opening up the door now. "Oh hi Rick," she greeted him with a small smile, "What was the commotion?"

"Tell you in the morning, Sydney. I'll be staying over tonight, so you know," he told her.

"Well, that should make Emily feel a bit better," Sydney declared, "Knowing someone's watching over us all. Come on in."

She held the door open for them. "Make yourself at home, Rick," she gestured around the room, then sided alongside Melanie and whispered, "You lucky devil; he's head over heels for you."

"I know, and I can't believe it," Melanie said with a smile. She yawned. "Well, good night, everyone, I'm going back to bed," she declared, climbing back into bed.

"Same here; surprised no one else woke up," Sydney glanced with confusion at her room, "Oh well. "Night all."

"Night, Sydney," Marti wished her well, climbing into her own bed. "Night, Melanie; hope you can have a better night's sleep after all this," she asked the blonde with concern.

"I'll keep an eye on her, Marti, don't worry about that," Rick had dragged a chair next to Melanie's bed and sat down in it, "I'll make sure no one bothers any of you girls."

"Well, I trust you, Rick. Good night." Marti switched off the light and rolled over in bed. Melanie leans towards Rick. "Just wanted to mention, Marti's infatuated with Patrick," she whispered in his ear with a grin.

"Oh she is, is she? Well, I think we might be able to do something about that," Rick grinned himself. "Whatever you want, Melanie, I'll make sure it comes to pass."

He rubbed her shoulder gently when she laid back down in bed. "I heard you've been looking into what's been happening here at the hotel, to Rob and everyone. Find out anything yet?" he whispered softly.

"Well, we kind of know how they've managed to escape each time. I'm not sure I want to go on, Rick; I don't want to put my friends in danger anymore," she admitted.

"Well, I understand if you want to stop; you've got a great group of friends, Melanie. But if you are going to keep investigating, I'll be glad to help. Like I said, I still owe you for saving me."

"I appreciate it, Rick," she yawned again, "Well, good night, and thanks again for wanting to make sure we're safe."

"Don't mention it. Sleep well," Rick planted a soft kiss on her cheek, then started gently stroking her hair. Melanie smiled warmly, snuggling down in bed. She'd won the heart of the boy of her dreams, and she couldn't be happier than she was.

* * *

"I want her dead!" Rhonda hissed into the phone in her darkened hotel room, "And I want to kill her myself! No one takes Rick away from me!"

"All right, calm down," came the raspy voice on the other end, "She's already marked for liquidation, so there's no need to overreact."

"It's not enough to kill her; I want her slaughtered now like an animal, butchered, ripped apart, a closed-casket funeral!" Rhonda yelled.

"I said we will. Now don't do anything rash; she and her friends will not live to see their homes and families again. By the time the roads are clear, they'll be good and dead. Don't do anything rash to expose anyone or anything here."

"I'm not being rash! I'm just...!"

"Good night," the raspy voice said, followed by the line clicking off. Rhonda growled and slammed the receiver down on the cradle. "I should probably trust you, but with that little brat, I'd better make sure," she mumbled, opening her purse and withdrawing a very large knife, "You're paying in blood, Haddix, and gallons of it. If I can't have Rick, no one will."


	9. Chapter 9

"You want me to what!?" an incredulous Patrick asked Rick the following morning in the lobby.

"Like I said, buddy; I want you to take Marti McClure on a date," Rick gestured at Marti, talking with the rest of Melanie's friends by the door, and not noticing the conversation, "Anything she wants to do, do it with her."

"Why!? I don't even know her!"

"Because she's crazy for you, and the least you could do is give her at least a day's worth of time together," Rick stressed.

Patrick sighed in resignation. "All right, but just for today," he said firmly, then started walking over to where Marti stood. Rick turned to Melanie beside himself. "There, promise fulfilled. She's got a date with the boy of her dreams," he said with a smile.

"I appreciate it, Rick," Melanie smiled herself at the sight of Marti's face lighting up in delight once Patrick tapped her on the shoulder.

"So, what shall we do first?" he asked, putting an arm around her, "This'll be your special day, Melanie; whatever you want to do, we'll do together."

"Well, that's a tough call. Carol and Roxanne were going ice skating on the lake, Sydney and Emily were going sledding on one of the smaller hills. Sophie's going to be working in the office with her dad, with her hurt ribs and all. I thought maybe I'd volunteer there if I couldn't make up my mind. I don't know which to do yet..."

"Well, who says we can't do both?" Rick proposed, "We'll spend an hour doing one, and another hour with the other. By then, maybe the slopes'll be open again, and we can get in some skiing."

"OK, I guess I can live with that," she nodded, "I was leaning towards skating first..."

"Well, let's go skating, then," he told her, zipping up his coat. Melanie did the same and followed him out the door. "Hey, wait up, guys," she called to the Parker sisters, who'd split off in the direction of the lake, "I decided to go with you for a while."

"Well, glad to have you along, Melanie," Carol grinned, "Here," she handed her a pair of skates, "Spare set Sophie found in the storeroom she found the sleds the others are using."

"You and Roxanne'll have to lead me along; I haven't had too much experience skating," Melanie admitted.

"No problem. I'm a novice myself. We'll learn together," Rick assured her. In no time, the four of them reached the lake. Melanie put on her skates and hesitantly stepped onto the ice. With a low cry, she slipped and almost lost her balance. "Hold on, hold on, I've got you," Rick lunged out and caught her before she could fell...then slipped and fell himself. "But who's got you?" Melanie laughed, helping him up.

"I guess it's you. Nice and easy at first, together," Rick took both her hands. The two of them started skating slowly in wide circles across the ice. "Not bad, for two amateurs," Roxanne teasingly commended them, "Now watch Carol and I show you how the pros do it."

She and her sister broke into impressive synchronized spins across the ice, culminating with flying triple twirls. "Impressive, you guys," Melanie applauded them.

"The Olympics are going to be ours eventually," Carol bragged, "Rox and I have what it takes to win the gold."

"And then, a big contract on national ice tours," Roxanne struck a dramatic pose on one foot-then stumbled and almost lost her balance. "Easy there, got you," Carol skated over and caught her.

"Thanks. I know you've always got my back, Carol," Roxanne grinned. Melanie smiled herself. "Shall we try some moves of our own?" she asked Rick.

"Well, let's see what we can do," Rick took her around the waist and lifted her off the ice, spinning in a circle. "Rick, Rick, put me down!" she protested, laughing.

"OK, if you insist," he lowered her back to the ice, then pushed gently off and skated on one foot down the ice, flapping his arms. "I call it the snow goose," he told her jokingly.

"Well, I can fly better than that," Melanie mimicked his movement. "Now together," she took his hand. The two of them burst forward on one foot down the ice-and slipped and fell in unison. Laughing, they rolled up into sitting positions. "We're really not that good at this, are we?" she chuckled.

"Not really. But at least I get to share it with a great and beautiful girl," he pulled her close, "And that's reward enough for me."

"I guess I could say that too," she smiled, her heart melting for him, "You're making this trip so much more special for me, Rick..."

* * *

"Yeah, I see her, and a couple of those other girls," the figure in the woods atop the hill overlooking the lake said into a radio, watching Melanie and the others through binoculars, "Too many people to strike now, but if I get a chance with any of them, I'll take it. If they go inside, I'll get in position. Don't worry, they'll be taken care of."

* * *

An hour later, Melanie found herself astride a sled staring down the hill towards the hotel. "Well, again, I guess it's first one down's having dinner bought for them," she told Sydney and Emily to her right.

"Guess so. You're doing not half bad for a first timer," Emily commended her.

"Well, there's not many hills in Nebraska to practice on. I guess I'm doing all right," Melanie said, angling her sled for the best and fastest angle down the hill.

"You certainly are. And thanks again, Sydney, for not wanting to take an extreme hill to go down," Emily thanked her neighbor.

"Hey, I did a little thinking last night, and figured it would help if I took in your feelings a little more, Emily. I know you'd want it nice and easy, so..." Sydney told her with a smile.

"Thank you. Now on your mark, get set, go!" Emily pushed off the hill. Melanie did the same, gripping the front of the sled hard. It careened down the hill, picking up speed, heading towards where Rick was standing with his arm raised. He jerked it down like a checkered flag once the sleds reached the bottom. "Emily, you were first to the finish line," he congratulated the brunette.

"All right," Emily pumped her fist in delight, "I'll have the baked haddock for dinner, Syd," she told Sydney with a grin.

"Well, if you insist, Emily. I'm glad to see you happy for once...and speaking of which," Sydney turned her gaze to the right and smiled herself. Melanie turned and broke into a smile of her own to see Marti and Patrick walking together, engaged in deep conversation, and with smiles on their faces. "...submitted it to the state poetry competition, and it got honorable mention," Marti was telling him, "That locked in my wish to be a writer. So when the chance came to join the school newspaper, I jumped for it. So I'll have the article written up with Melanie after this trip's over, and if you'd like, I'll give you a big plug in it, Patrick," she gave him a lovesick look.

"I'd really appreciate it if you'd like to," he seemed just as enamored, "You know, I think I'm really starting to like you, Marti," he said with a smile, taking hold of her hand, "I'll admit I wasn't sure about this at first, but you're really a nice girl, and, well, an interesting one too."

"Oh Patrick, thank you," she blushed.

"Yeah, you are," he gave her a pat on the shoulder, "Well, actually, I've got to get going-I promised Mark Franklin we're hit the arcade before the day's out-but hey, I'd be glad to join you for dinner tonight, Marti."

"Oh would you? Tell me where and when," she gushed. Patrick cracked a smile. "I'll see you later, Marti," he told her in parting, walking off. Marti shrieked in delight and deliberately threw herself backwards into the snow. "I have the man of my dreams, I have the man of my dreams!" she all but sang, making snow angels in delight.

"I saw, and congratulations, Marti," Melanie sat down next to her, "Look like we've both lucked out on this trip."

"And thank YOU," Marti hugged her, "Patrick told me how you and Rick told him I was the greatest girl he could find. I don't know how I can thank you for that...!"

"You don't need to, Marti. Setting you up with the boy of your dreams is my thanks for being such a great friend. This is..."

"Hey guys," Emily spoke up, and she sounded worried. Melanie looked up to see Roxanne coming towards them, and she looked nervous. "Hey, have you guys seen Carol around?" she asked them all, "She went for a bathroom break twenty years ago, and hasn't come back to the lake yet."

"Uh, no, she's not here, Rox," Sydney told her, frowning, "That is a little strange, although if you've got to go, you've got to go."

"No times for jokes, Sydney," Emily glared at her, panic starting to spread on her face, "She was the first one; now they're going to carve a path through the rest of us...!"

"Oh Emily, relax, this doesn't mean she's in dire danger," Melanie said firmly. It was at that moment, however, that loud cries by the hotel made her look up to see staff members rushing pell-mell into the building. "That's not good," she mumbled, her stomach starting to sink.

"I told you, this is bad. She's...Melanie, no, I don't want to see it!" Emily's protest fell on deaf ears, for Melanie had broken into a run towards the hotel. Her heart was pounding; if anything had happened to Carol...

She barely registered everyone else behind her as she raced in the front door and barreled down the hall. Her blood started freezing to see security members gathering around a woman's bathroom-and she could clearly see red streaks on the wall. Without thinking, she pushed forward through the wall of hotel staff members-and promptly stumbled backwards in horror, jamming her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. Carol lay on the floor by the stall nearest the door, a wide-eyed expression of terror plastered on her face, her throat slashed, and numerous stab wounds all over her chest. There was no question she was dead, and had suffered severely in her last minutes on earth. Melanie slumped against the wall, covering her mouth to keep from throwing up...

"CAROL NO!" Roxanne's horrified scream filled the air, bringing her out of her stupor. The younger Parker sister flung herself on top of Carol's body. "PLEASE, NO, CAROL, NO!" she screeched in agony, pressing frantically on Carol's chest, "NOT THIS, PLEASE GOD, NOT THIS! COME BACK, PLEASE; DON'T LEAVE ME, CAROL! PLEASE, DO YOU HEAR ME, CAROL, DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"Sorry, honey, she's gone," the doctor put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, shaking his head, "She died right away once her throat was slit."

"SHE'S NOT DEAD, SHE CAN'T BE DEAD! PLEASE, CAROL, COME BACK!" Roxanne screamed, pressing harder on her sister's chest in desperation. But Carol made no movement or any sign of life. Howling in misery, Roxanne rose up and pushed her way out of the bathroom with tears flowing down her face in rivers. Melanie turned and watched her go with a numb expression. Her hand went instinctively to her crucifix. "Heavenly Father, have mercy on her soul, and commend her into thy arms peacefully," she mumbled, making the sign of the cross towards Carol's body, which was being covered with a sheet. "What happened?" she heard Mr. Hunt the security chief saying vaguely in front of her.

"I went to clean the bathroom, and she was lying right there, dead," a maid spoke up with a faltering voice, "Who could have done something like this!?"

"I don't know. We'll have to check the security tapes and see if anyone came in or out," he declared, "Let's move it along, people, this is an official investigation now," Hunt waved people away from the bathroom. Melanie stumbled out into the hall, glanced in the direction Roxanne had run, then tapped a stunned Marti on the shoulder and pointed in that direction. Marti silently nodded and followed her up the hall. From the lobby, the two of them saw Roxanne slumped up in a ball just outside the door, her face in her hands. Melanie took a nervous gulp and slowly walked outside, the sound of hysterical crying overtaking her ears once she stepped through the door. "Roxanne, I, I don't quite know what to say," she managed to say with a halting voice, sitting down next to her, "This...this is horrible beyond words, and I never wanted to...I...I can only guess how horrible this is for you..."

"She was more than my sister, she was my best friend, hands down," Roxanne whimpered in a cracking voice, "It's always been the two of us, always inseparable. She'd always want me to come along with her friends; she said we'd be the best of sisters forever..."

She sniffed in misery. "Two years ago, we were hiking in the woods outside town," she related, choking her every word, "We were going up a rock ledge, and it started raining. Right at the highest point, I slipped on the wet trail and fell a hundred feet into a ravine, shattered my leg in three places. Somehow, Carol got down to me, and no matter much I begged and pleaded her to leave me and go for help, she refused to let me lay there alone and in agony. For eight hours, she knelt there beside me, holding my hand and giving me comfort, telling me that it was going to be all right. It got pitch dark after nightfall, but she still wouldn't leave me, wouldn't let go of me, stayed right there until search parties found us. Carol was my second half, and she was always there for me, to help me up when I fell. And now what am I going to do, without her to be there for me when I...CARRRRRRRROOOOOOLLLLLLLL!" she let out a heart-rending scream of grief, then buried her face in her hands again and wept uncontrollably. Melanie found herself breaking into tears as well. "I'm so sorry, Roxanne!" she sobbed, hugging Roxanne close, "Oh God, I wish this didn't have to happen, not to a nice girl like Carol, not to you!"

"CAROL!" Roxanne wailed tearfully again, pounding the hotel wall hard with her fists. Melanie squeezed her tight. "I know, I know!" she mumbled through her trembling lips, "But I'm here, Roxanne, Marti's here, the other girls are here. We'll get you through this while we're together, I promise!"

"Yeah, we're here, Roxanne," Marti came over and hugged the other redhead as well.

"I'm nothing without her!" Roxanne cried, "What am I going to tell Mom and Dad!? I should just kill myself now; then at least we'll be together again...!"

"Oh God, Roxanne, don't say that!" horrified, Melanie pulled away from her, "Killing yourself's not the answer! Think of the pain you'll cause everyone...!"

"The pain I'm feeling's too much; I just want to die!" Roxanne howled, "I should have gone with her; I could have saved her, or at least we'd have gone out together!"

"Roxanne, please don't think that!" Melanie shouted, "You need to live, for her! Carol would want you to keep going, to keep being the sister she loved! You understand me!?"

"I...I don't know! I just want this to be a horrible nightmare I can wake up from, and everything to be all right again!" Roxanne sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"We know, we do too," Marti rubbed her shoulder, "We wish it could be different. Come on," she gently helped Roxanne to her feet, then glanced at the mountain above them, "Looks like the trails are open again; let's go skiing together."

"I don't feel like it, Marti, and I..."

"Roxanne, it's best to get you away from here for a while. Don't worry, Marti and will be there for you all the way, OK!?" Melanie looked her right in the eye. Roxanne wiped her eyes and gave a soft nod. "All right, we'll go around the back door and get our skis and go down a couple of trails," Melanie put an arm around her and led her around the back of the hotel, shooting Marti a worried glance. _"Don't take your eyes off her,"_ she mouthed at her best friend, _"She'll kill herself if we do!"_

 _"I know,"_ Marti mouthed back, patting Roxanne when she wailed in grief again, _"We'd better be there for her till we leave. This just got deadly serious."_

* * *

"OK, ready?" Melanie asked Roxanne a half hour later near the bottom of the ski lift.

"Guess so," Roxanne mumbled disinterestedly, staring blankly at the ground

"It's going to be good; this'll do you and us good," Melanie tried to assure her, patting her on the shoulder. She gave Marti another concerned glance. "You need time away, Roxanne," the other redhead told the surviving Parker sister, "Time to get your thoughts together, and..."

"Hey guys, wait for us," Sydney called behind them. She and Emily, wearing their own skis now, were approaching. "We're so sorry," the black-haired girl told Roxanne, putting an arm around her, "Emily and I will do anything we can to make you feel better, just like I'm sure Melanie and Marti promised you too."

"What would make me feel better would to have Carol back," Roxanne's lip quivered, tears flooding her eyes again.

"I know, we'd want her back too," Sydney hugged her, clearly fighting back tears of her own, "We'll go skiing with you as well. Rick'll be here once he gets suited up for the slopes," she told Melanie, "After what's happened, he's pretty adamant about making sure you and we aren't in harm's way. I listened in a bit to the security staff talking about it; they said that..."

"You can tell me, Sydney," Marti interrupted, walking over to her, "I'm sure Roxanne isn't in the mood to hear specifics. I'll catch up, Melanie," she told her friend.

"Right. Come on, Roxanne, we'll start on up," Melanie took her hand and led her towards the chair lift. Marti was right, she knew; best to get Roxanne away from anything that would remind her of her sister's murder. "Lord, give her comfort, and take the grief from her heart as best you can," she softly prayed skyward.

"What?" Roxanne briefly looked up.

"Just trying to give you some kind of peace. Here we go," Melanie slid into the first available chair, looking back at Marti conversing with her other friends down below as she locked the lap bar into place. Hopefully whatever they'd tell her when they'd had the chance would be helpful to exposing whoever would do such a horrific act. Carol deserved closure at least, she knew. "You're going to like this in the end, Roxanne, we're going to have fun together," she said, still looking back down the lift.

"And I'm going to have lots of fun, Haddix you thief," came a cold, familiar voice. Melanie spun in surprise. Sure enough, there was Rhonda, having snuck onto the lift with Roxanne behind her. "Figured that if you were going skiing today, I would too," Rhonda glared in her face, "It's amazing how high up we go on this, isn't it, Haddix," she gestured at the high drop below them.

"What do you want from me, Rhonda!? You lost Rick yourself by being a...!" Melanie let out a loud shriek as Rhonda abruptly pulled a large knife from her coat and thrust it in her face. "Don't scream, don't make a sound, and don't resist!" the popular girl warned her, "You embarrassed me and took the man I love, Haddix, and as I promised, you're going to pay a bloody price! I'm the only one among us who's getting off this ski lift alive."

"Do what you want, I don't care," Roxanne mumbled, her head hung low.

"Aw, miss your dear sister already?" Rhonda taunted her, her eyes zeroing in on the deep chasm directly under the ski life ahead, "Well, don't worry, I'm going to fix that."

"No, don't you dare!" Melanie cried, abruptly grabbing hold of the knife and trying to pull it out of Rhonda's hands, "She still has so much to live for...!"

She shrieked as Rhonda yanked the knife back and slashed her wrist hard. "You're extraneous now, so off you go," she snarled to Roxanne, giving her a hard shove right as the lift passed over the thousand foot chasm. Horrified, Melanie lurched forward, but was too late to grab Roxanne before she toppled out of the lift chair. She spun away and covered her eyes, unwilling to bear to watch, although the horrified screams of riders in front and behind her chair, plus Roxanne's final cry of, "I'M COMING, CAROL!" that slowly diminished to nothing rang ominously in her ears. "You heartless monster...!" she breathed furiously at Rhonda.

"Thank you. And now," Rhonda pulled Melanie's hands off her face and thrust the knife into it, "It's your turn."


	10. Chapter 10

"NO!" Melanie tried to pushed her away. "Oh you want to fight!? You'll pay if you do!" Rhonda grabbed her by the throat and pushed her sideways. "Stop it...!" Melanie gasped for air, trying to keep from going over the side as Roxanne had.

"It's your call, Haddix; you can either be stabbed or fall to your death. The choice is yours. Or, we can do both," Rhonda raised the knife high and started to bring it down, Melanie desperately grabbed her wrist in midair and strained to keep it above her face. She was slipping backwards from the forced of Rhonda's grip, however, and knew she was going to fall out of the chair anyway in a minute. "Please, God, don't let me die here!" she mouthed to the Almighty.

"God can't save you, Haddix. Rick is mine, and you're paying for taking him from me!" Rhonda roared, forcing the knife ever closer to Melanie's face. Melanie knew it was now or never to save her life. She quickly swung her legs up and started frantically pushing against Rhonda's chest, which did drive her back a little bit. "You're not getting the edge on me, Haddix!" Rhonda strained against Melanie's feet, pushing the knife ever close, "This is the end...!"

"NO!" Melanie pushed her feet into Rhonda's chest with all her strength. It was then that the ski lift jerked to a sudden stop, and that, plus the force of her push, sent Rhonda tumbling backwards-right out of the chair and down into the abyss below them. "OH MY GOD!" Melanie gasped in horror, clapping her hands to her mouth, listening in shock to Rhonda's scream echoing down the chasm, but not daring to look down, "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE!?"

Stunned, she sat frozen in horror until the lift reached the top of the mountain. "Honey are you all right!? We got the alert you were being..." the attendant at the top tried to say, unlocking the lap bar. With a sob, Melanie pushed past him and started running down the ski slope, tears running down her face. All she wanted now was to just get away from the resort, and the horrible memories that had started piling up there.

* * *

"Melanie, it's Rick, can I please come in?" came his worried voice from outside her hotel room.

"No, I want to be alone right now, Rick!" she cried, sobbing hard into her pillow.

"Melanie, it wasn't your fault..."

"I killed her, Rick! I'm not worthy to be with you!"

"Marti, give me your room key," Rick mumbled outside. The room's door swung open. "Melanie, I know how horrible you feel," he approached the bed slowly, "I know you don't like to see people hurt, even bad ones. But she had a knife in your face; if you hadn't fought back, it would have been you at the bottom of that cliff."

"I still killed her, Rick!" she wailed in grief, "My whole life, I've been told to respect human life and never harm anyone! Now I have a murder on my name! I'm a killer!" she raised her head and stared in horror at her hands, "I can't live with myself knowing I've done that!"

With a sob, she slumped back onto the pillow and cried harder. "Melanie, listen to me," Rick seized her head and turned it towards himself, "It...was...self...defense. She intended to kill you; everything you did was fully justified. You're still the same sweet, innocent girl I've fallen in love with, and I know God forgives you as well. Understand!?"

"Well...yeah, I guess so," she nodded softly, wiping at her eyes, then choked up again. "But Carol and Roxanne are still dead because of me!" she howled, burying her face in her hands, "If I hadn't been playing detective since I got here, they wouldn't have targeted Carol, and if I hadn't been bent on trying to get Roxanne's mind off her sister's death, she'd never have been on that ski lift chair with me! Even if what happened with Rhonda wasn't my fault, those are! I'm a disgrace to myself and...!"

"Stop, please!" Rick pulled her into a hug, "You know that's not true, Melanie! God, you know that's not true! Carol's dead because of that psychopath who waited in the bathroom for her, not you, and it's only Rhonda's fault that Roxanne's dead! You've done absolutely nothing wrong all week, you hear me!?"

"I guess...I don't know!" she sniffed, "I just want to go home and climb into bed for a week, and forget this whole trip ever happened!"

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed hard again. "It's all right, Melanie, it's all right," Rick patted her gently on the back, "Everything's going to be all right."

He pulled back for a moment to give her a kiss, then hugged her close again. "You going to be all right now?" he finally released her.

"Yeah, I think so now," she nodded, grabbing for a tissue on the nightstand and blowing her nose.

"Would you like me to stay with you a while?"

"Yes, Rick, please stay," she nodded again.

"OK, I'll stay right here by your side as long as you want," he sat down on the bed next to her and put his arm around her. "Your friends are still outside; can they come in?" he asked her, planting another kiss on her forehead, "They've been worried sick about you too."

"Yeah. Guys, you can come in," Melanie called towards the door. It swung open, and the other girls all rushed in. "Are you OK, Melanie!?" Marti swept her up into a hug of her own, "I was so scared for you when I saw Rhonda draw that knife...!"

"I thought I was a goner too, Marti. I tried to save Roxanne, but everything moved too fast..."

"You did what you could, Melanie, so don't feel guilty," Sydney told her, deep concern on her face, "You want anything? Anything we can get for you or do for you?"

"I just want to go home, Sydney. I've had enough up here, and I don't want to play detective anymore."

"Thank you, God," Emily whispered in relief at the foot of the bed. "Oh, sorry," she apologized when Melanie gave her a strange look, "It's just...well, you know how I am. But I'm glad you're all right, Melanie," she sat down next to her and gave her a sympathetic look, "I know we've fought a bit this week over your curiosity and everything, but I like you a lot as a friend, and I'd hate for anything bad to happen to you."

"You're a great friend too, Emily. And I don't want to see anything bad happen to you or the others going forward. Sophie," Melanie turned towards the hotel owner's daughter in the doorway, "How soon till the roads are cleared?"

"The county's still plowing; probably another two of three hours. I can let you know. I've got to go back to work now, but I'll pass along the information when it's confirmed," Sophie told her, "Feel better soon, Melanie."

"On your way, stop by Room 211 and tell Patrick I want someone on guard at this door until Melanie and her friends leave; no one comes in without screening," Rick asked her.

"Will do," Sophie left the room. Melanie exhaled in relief. "Almost over," she sighed, slumping her head against Rick's shoulder.

"We'll get through it," Marti dragged a chair over to the left side of the bed, sat down in it, and took hold of Melanie's left hand. "It's going to be all right, Melanie; we're with you to the end of this."

"I'd appreciate it if you guys would sleep over again tonight when we get back home; I don't think I want to be alone tonight," Melanie asked her.

"No problem at all, Melanie," Sydney dragged another chair over to the right side of the bed and took hold of Melanie's other hand, "We'll stay with you as long as you want company, today, tomorrow, whenever, we're here."

"Yeah, we're all here for you, Melanie," smiling, Emily, with no other chair readily available, sat down on the bottom of the bed, "You're not alone, and you won't be alone."

"Thanks," Melanie broke into a grateful smile, "I may have said it before, but the three of you are the best friends a girl could ever ask for-and you're the nicest guy a girl could ever ask for," she turned the smile to Rick, "Thank you for all your kind words, Rick."

"Just keep telling yourself it's not your fault, Melanie," he kissed her on the forehead again, then pulled her close, "I'll be there for you when you get back to Shadyside too, don't you worry about that. Just relax, and don't worry."

"I love you, Rick Lewis," she told him, snuggling into his side.

"I love you, Melanie Haddix. Keep showing me your beautiful smile," he started stroking her hair again. Melanie exhaled happily and closed her eyes. She felt relieved that no one held Rhonda's death against her.

For what seemed an eternity, she sat there, leaning against Rick with her eyes closed. No one else in the room spoke, and it was quiet in the hallway, giving Melanie a much needed sense of peace. Rick continued stroking her hair, and Marti and Sydney would occasionally give her hands a squeeze, but otherwise it was still around her. Finally, the silence was broken by a cough from Emily. "Sorry. Well, it's about five now," she turned to the clock on the nightstand, "If the roads are even remotely passable, we ought to get going now while the getting's good."

"Um," Sydney rose up out of her chair while keeping her hold on Melanie's hand and stared out the window, "I can see the plow truck up the road, but they're not quite here yet. So probably another fifteen minutes to a half hour, Emily."

"Well, we should probably start packing up then; if we..." Emily was cut off by the most horrifying of sounds: an explosion on the other side of the hotel. "Oh no!" the brunette gasped, toppling off the bed in shock, "Oh no, don't tell me they're using explosives to kill people now!"

"That sounded like it was the main offices...Sophie might have been...!" Marti was too horrified to finish the sentence. In a flash, everyone in the room rose up and bolted for the door. Melanie grabbed her high tops off the floor and slipped them on before rushing after everyone else, terror sweeping through her. If another friend was now gone...

She raced up the hall, screeching to a stop with everyone else in the back of the large crowd gathered around what had once been the north side of the hotel. A large gaping hole in the wall stood there now, with hotel staff members sifting through the debris. And it was in fact now that two of them grimly bent down and picked up from amid the bricks...

 _"Sophie...!"_ she whimpered grimly. The other blonde was limp and bleeding, and clearly not breathing from what Melanie could see. Moments later, the man holding her head put his hand to her chest, shook his head, and waved for a sheet. Melanie could take no more. With a soft gasp of grief, she turned and ran as fast as she could towards the hotel door, her hands over her mouth to keep from throwing up. She had to get away from the hotel, before anyone else was killed...

It was snowing hard again outside, limiting Melanie's visibility in addition to the gathering darkness, but she didn't care. Her eyes flooding with tears, she ran hard across the parking lot, into the woods, across several now empty ski slopes, and didn't stop running until she was too tired to go any further. She collapsed to her knees in the middle of the thick woods she'd stopped in, threw up, and started sobbing uncontrollably in grief. She was freezing cold with only her Lawrenceburg varsity jacket for warmth, but she couldn't go back, not when she had brought this on Sophie and everyone else. She had to get away to save them...

"SHE WAS SEVENTEEN!" she screamed in anguish at the snow-filled sky, "SHE HAD HER WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF HER! CAROL AND ROXANNE AND EVERYONE ELSE HAD THEIR WHOLE LIVES AHEAD OF THEM! THEY WERE GOOD, CARING GIRLS; WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN!? I'VE BELIEVED IN YOU MY WHOLE LIFE, I'VE DEDICATED MYSELF TO FOLLOW YOUR WORD; HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN UNDER YOUR CONTROL!? HOW COULD YOU LET THE DEVIL GET AWAY WITH DOING THIS!?

There came a sudden crunching of footsteps in the snow behind her. Melanie turned and screamed to find that there were several ominous figures in black from head to toe behind her...and in front of her...and on either side. "How could the devil do this?" snickered one of the largest figures, stepping forward from the group, "Because we do his work and do it well. And the devil says to finish you as horribly as we can."

He lunged towards her. Screaming again, Melanie ducked him and turned to run. She managed no more than a few steps, though, before the figures converged on her and grabbed her. Her arms were pinned roughly behind her back, and huge hands started choking her. She gasped desperately for air. _"I've got to be brutal_ _here whether I like it or not if I want to live!"_ she told herself, and thus delivered a hard kick backwards that made her captor howl and release her. Melanie repeated the kick on the figure choking her. He released her too. She dove rapidly to the ground under the legs of the other figures and took off running as fast as she could...

...when suddenly, the ground gave away to nothing underneath her. With a loud cry, Melanie fell down through space for what seemed an eternity, finally landing with a hard crash on a rocky surface. Instantly, the most horrific pain imaginable ripped through her leg. Melanie gripped hold of it with an agonized yell. It was badly sprained, she knew, and at the worst possible moment. She'd made a horrific mistake running out here on her own...

She heard the figures coming and looked up to see they'd gained ground on her rapidly. Gasping, she stumbled to her feet and tried to run again, but her leg gave out almost immediately, and she fell flat on her face into the snow, too injured to walk, let alone run. Seconds later, the figures were on top of her and were grabbing at her again. "NO, LET GO OF ME!" she shrieked, struggling to get away and praying she was still close enough to the hotel for someone to hear her, "HELP, SOMEBODY, PLEASE...!"

A hand was clamped over her mouth to silence her. It was a split second later that she was hit hard on the head, and everything went completely black...


	11. Chapter 11

Melanie slowly drifted back to consciousness. Her head throbbed in pain, and she was having some difficulty breathing. And she felt brutally cold, almost as if she was buried under snow...

...which, she realized, she partially was. A thin layer of snow was covering her, which was made worse by the fact her varsity jacket had been removed, and her sweater sleeves were rolled all the way up. She started shivering heavily, feeling frozen to the bone. Nor was this her only problem; she was tied to a tree, gagged, and blindfolded, and her arms were cut and bleeding. Melanie felt light-headed; she had apparently been bleeding for some time. They'd left her to die, she realized, to either freeze to death or bleed to death. And neither option was palatable for her. She had to get loose and get to safety...

She squirmed to the right-and immediately howled into her gag in agony, for even this slight movement sent horrific pain roaring through her ribs, which felt badly injured. Her face also stung hard, on top of the sharp pain from her sprained ankle. Her attackers must have done a number on her after she'd been knocked out, she knew. Why they didn't kill her off the bat, she didn't know, but from all the pain she was experiencing at the moment, instant death might have been preferable. _"Maybe they wanted me to suffer,"_ she thought to herself, "To die slowly and agonizingly. _I've got to get loose quick, then; I'm so cold, and I don't know how much longer I can hold out...!"_

She strained hard on her wrists, twisting them around. The ropes were very tight, however, and Melanie found she didn't have the strength to pull hard enough to break them. She felt very weak; the brutal cold and her bleeding arms were draining the energy out of her rapidly. _"How long have I been out here?"_ she wondered, wincing when she tried to thump her feet against the ground, her sprained leg causing more intense pain, " _It was just after five when I ran off..."_

Her watch in fact beeped behind her back now; eleven o'clock. Melanie knew few people could survive more than six hours outside; the temperature had to be lower than five degrees at the moment, and she could feel heavy snow lashing against her cheeks. Another blizzard had sprung up, which meant she was completely isolated and probably cut off from help. The cold seeped deep into her; she could feel her body temperature dropping by the second. Her limbs were starting to grow numb, and it was increasingly harder to move her arms and legs. _"You've got to keep moving them, Haddix; you're doomed if you stop moving!"_ she begged herself. She tried twisting her arms and legs, but they hurt too much, and they were growing stiff and unresponsive. Indeed, it was getting harder and harder for Melanie to move at all; her body seemed ready to start shutting down. She was fast becoming an icicle, and was tied too well to do anything about it. Which meant, she knew, that she had to think about facing the possibly inevitable...

 _"What's it like to die!?"_ she thought morbidly to herself, her head slumping downwards, _"I didn't want to answer that at only seventeen. No one does. But I may have no choice now. God, please, answer me, why am I in this!?"_ she begged the Almighty in her mind, " _Why is the devil putting me through this!? I've been your faithful servant my whole life; please, let me live! There's so much I can do in this world, and I don't want to join you yet! Please, give me a miracle and let me live!"_

She listened to the howling wind for any sign her prayers might have been answered. Only the howling of the drifting snow could be heard. Depressed, Melanie slumped into a ball, her strength ebbing rapidly. She probably only had a few minutes left on earth. _"Mom, Dad, if you can hear this, I love you,"_ she tried to mentally tell her parents, dozens of miles away, _"Guys, Rick, thank you for everything. I wish we could have spent more time together, but I guess that wasn't in the cards. If this is your will, God, I guess I'm ready. If it's my time, then commend me peacefully and painlessly into your hands..."_

And then, something caught her ear. She weakly raised her head, thinking at first it might just be the wind. But she could hear it again: human voices, getting closer. And then she heard a familiar voice calling her name: Marti's voice. Her heart leaped: there was still hope. Her prayers had been answered...if she could be found in time...

Summoning what was left of her strength, she wailed hard into her gag and thumped her feet on the ground as hard as she could. Sure enough, she heard Mari cry out, "Over there, I think I see something!" Footsteps rushed to her location. "Melanie, oh god!" Marti gasped, "Over here, guys, and hurry; she's badly hypothermic!" the redhead cried out.

"Melanie hang on, we'll get you out of here!" Emily's voice rang out next. Hands pulled the blindfold and gag off her eyes and mouth and started untying her ropes. "Oh my God, Melanie, you poor thing, what did they do to you!?" a horrified Emily gasped.

"How is she!?" Rick's voice rang out in the snowy darkness that Melanie could barely see through even after her eyes had started adjusting.

"Frozen solid and bleeding; whoever left her here wanted her to die. Looks like she's been beaten badly too, the monsters," Sydney called from Melanie's right, sounding on the verge of tears. "Melanie, hang in there and don't die on us!" the black-haired girl hugged her close once Melanie's last ropes fell off.

"Please...run...Sydney...everyone..." she could barely croak out the words, "...I'll...get...you...killed..."

"We're not leaving you, Melanie, not when you're this bad," sounding tearful herself, Marti squeezed her hand. "We've got to stop that bleeding first and foremost," she told everyone else worriedly.

"Not to complain, Marti, but where are we going to find bandages out here!?" Emily snapped, likely out of worry.

"Actually, I know what we can use," Sydney declared. Melanie turned to see her unknotting her current neck scarf. "This is my best one, but there are times you've got to sacrifice," the black-haired girl mused, tying it tightly around the slash wound on Melanie's left arm. "And good thing I was carrying a couple with me," she dug a second neck scarf out of her jean pocket and tied it over the right arm's slash wound, then pulled both of Melanie's sweater sleeves back down. "Anyone see her jacket anywhere!?" she asked the other girls, "We'd better warm her up quick...!"

"Think I see something buried over here...yeah, that's it," Marti rushed over to a spot a few yards away where Melanie could in fact see a patch of blue still visible under the snow. The redhead dug it out, rushed back over to Melanie, slipped the jacket on her, and buttoned it all the way up. Seconds later, Melanie felt a coat slip around her as well. "Don't, Rick...you need it...it's too cold..." she mumbled weakly up at him.

"You need it more, Melanie," he looked deeply worried, picking her up in his arms. "Owwwwwww!" she cried out, gritting her teeth in agony, "My leg hurts..."

"It's really swollen, I can't blame you," Emily examined it grimly, "Let's get her back to the hotel, or somewhere where we can get her warmed up," she told everyone else.

"Uh..." a frowned crossed Marti's face as she looked around, "Uh, guys, any idea where we are, or which way the hotel is?"

"None..." Rick conceded with a frustrated look, "We're lost, and I think we're at least a good three miles from the hotel."

"Now what!? Melanie doesn't have much time if we can't get her warmed...!" Emily bellowed.

"I know, I know! Well, best to start walking and hope we find some place, any place, where we can at least bunker in for the night," Rick turned and started walking away with Melanie in his arms. "Leave me here, please, I'm endangering you and the girls...!" she begged him.

"No, we're not leaving you to die here, Melanie," told her firmly, looking sadly down at her injured face, "We're getting you to safety. Stay strong till then, please."

"I'll try," she mumbled, her teeth chattering. Rick carried her to the right, stumbling through deep snow drifts. "I think I remember that double tree over there," he gestured at it through the blinding snow to the other girls, "We turned right at that, so we go left to get back to the hotel."

"Wait, didn't we go left at the double tree?" Emily protested, "Everything looks the same out here, and I..."

She yelped as she slipped and fell. "You OK, Emily?" Sydney bent down to help her up.

"Yeah, fine. I just wasn't expecting to have to go merrily traipsing through the woods in heels," Emily muttered, staring down at her footwear, which were admittedly inappropriate for a hike. "Why'd you have to run off, Melanie?" she complained to the blonde, shivering herself, "We were just as horrified at what happened to Sophie and her father and half the staff, but running off wasn't going to make anything better."

"Emily, forgive me, but now's not the time, not with Melanie like she is," Rick admonished her, stumbling slightly on a root but maintaining his hold on Melanie. "You still OK?" he asked her.

"I'm so cold..." she moaned, feeling frozen solid.

"Yeah, I know. We're working on it," he looked deathly worried now. He came to a stop and glanced around through the blinding snow. I don't recognize any of this," he sighed, "We might have been going the wrong way all along. If we..."

"You see that!?" Marti suddenly pointed. Melanie raised her head and saw it too: a low building right in front of them. "This looks like a ranger's station," the redhead rushed towards it, "Yeah, it is; I almost forgot there was the state park alongside the mountain. It's at least shelter, if we can get inside."

She tugged on the knob, which was locked. "Not to worry, stand clear," Sydney hefted a large rock and tossed it through the window nearest the door, shattering it. The black-haired girl reached through the hole and unlocked the door. "There, and maybe they even have a phone or radio inside," she threw the door open and waved everyone inside.

"Find a place where we can put Melanie where we can warm her up," Rick looked around worriedly for something to use.

"There's a bedroom back here; put her in here," Marti thrust a door open in the back of the station, "Guys, go find every blanket in here you can; she needs warmth now," she instructed Sydney and Emily, then followed Rick into the bedroom, where he laid Melanie down on the bed against the wall and pulled the blankets on it up to her chin. "It's going to be all right now, Melanie," she reassured the blonde, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Please run, Marti, I'm a curse," Melanie pleaded with her, "I'm going to get you and everyone else killed...!"

"You're not a curse Melanie, please don't say that! It is not your fault Sophie or anyone's dead; you've got to keep telling yourself that!" Marti begged her, "And I'm not leaving you, especially not when you're like this!"

"Marti, please, go...!"

"I am not leaving you, Melanie Haddix!" Marti all but shrieked, "Not when you're the best friend I could ever have! We're the M & M's, remember!? So we stick together to the end!"

"Yeah, we're the M & M's," Melanie nodded softly, deeply touched by the sheer depth of Marti's unwavering loyalty to her as a friend. Tears flowing down her face, Marti gave Melanie a gentle hug, then reached under the blankets and took hold of her hand again. "I'm staying right here with you until it's over...good, you found some," she nodded at Emily and Sydney in the doorway, each clutching a set of blankets.

"Yeah, we found a stash in the storage closet," Sydney told her. She and Emily rapidly threw the blankets over the bed, leaving Melanie under five layers. "Hope that'll warm you up good," Sydney told Melanie hopefully, looking on the verge of tears herself again, "And Melanie, I'm sorry."

"What for?" Melanie tried to sit up, but groaned and slumped back down when this caused too much pain to her ribs.

"I just feel guilty; all this weekend, I've been eager for adventure, ready for excitement, wanting to face danger. Look what that's gotten us all: Sophie and the Parkers dead, and you looking like this," Sydney gestured miserably at Melanie's injuries, "I feel like I goaded you into everything, Melanie, and I just feel horrible because of it. Maybe I live for the thrill a little too much..."

"It's not your fault, Sydney, so don't blame yourself," Melanie absolved her, "I've enjoyed sharing the good and the bad this weekend with you."

"Good," Sydney looked a little brighter, "OK, if you're set there, then Emily and I'll stand guard outside. No one's coming in without going through us, I promise you that, Melanie."

"Yeah, we'll keep a good watch till the storm's over, or until you're ready to go out again," Emily gave Melanie a reassuring nod of her own. "OK, first we barricade the door good, Syd," she told her friend as they walked outside, "No fires or anything that would tip the killers off no matter..."

The door closed behind them, muting their continued conversation somewhat. "Feeling any better, Melanie?" Rick asked her.

"I'm still so cold, Rick. And there's so much pain..." she winced; even the slightest motion hurt her.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My leg hurts the most, my ribs and face really hurt too. And the cold hurts," she shivered again, the icy feeling having permeated her entire body and inflicting pain itself.

"Well, we'll see if we can warm you a little more," he started climbing into the bed with her. "Rick, please, no sex," she protested, "I want to stay chaste until I'm married...!"

"Don't worry; I'm pretty well burned off of sex after Rhonda wanted it incessantly day in and day out," Rick assured her, slipping under the covers and pulling her close. "OOWWW!" she cried, gritting her teeth in agony, "My ribs...!"

"Sorry, sorry," he maneuvered his arm up to her shoulder and started stroking her hair again, "It really hurts to see you this bad, Melanie."

"I can't believe it; of course the phone doesn't work!" came Emily's frustrated shout from outside the room. Melanie turned towards it. "What do we do now?" she asked, "We might get snowed in..."

"Well, eventually it will be light again, so we can at least see where we're going when we try and leave. Till then, we're probably safe here; I don't think whoever attacked you'll be out in a blizzard," Marti guessed, "So just rest up for now, Melanie," she told her.

"I'll try...OOOWWWWW!" Melanie yelped again, pain shooting up her leg when she tried to roll sideways towards Rick. Marti reached under the covers and took hold of her hand again. "I'm here," she reiterated with a sad shake of the head, "Poor Melanie; you didn't deserve to be treated like this. Maybe Shadyside's not the right place for kind-hearted Christian girls..."

Sighing, she slumped her head against the bed while keeping a hold of Melanie's hand. Melanie twisted sideways as slowly as she could and buried her face in Rick's chest. "I'm here too," he told her softly, kissing her forehead while continuing to stroke her hair, "Just try and sleep...sleep...sleep..."

Melanie exhaled softly, leaning against him. She must have fallen asleep, for the next thing she knew, there was a knocking on the door, and it was light when she looked up. "Hey guys, wake up; Emily and I can hear someone calling out there!" Sydney was shouting, "I think it's the undercover cop."

"Huh. what?" this apparently woke Rick up next to Melanie.

"I can hear her too!" a wide awake Marti was standing by the window. And Melanie could vaguely hear a woman's voice calling out her name. Her heart leaped; if it was Walton, they were probably okay. "Is she alone, Sydney?" Marti asked through the bedroom door.

"She's by herself, but I think I see a large resort van in the grove not far from here," Sydney called back.

"I see. Go alert her that we're here. You good enough to walk, Melanie?" Marti asked her.

"I've got to try," Melanie tossed the covers off and stood up-but immediately collapsed to the floor with a cry of agony. "No, the leg's still sprained bad!" she whimpered, tears of pain flowing down her cheeks.

"You feeling warmer, though?" Rick asked, taking hold of her arm and helping her up.

"Yeah, I am, thanks Rick," she told him, for the cold feeling had largely dissipated.

"All right; Marti, help me get her outside," Rick told the redhead, who gently took Melanie's other arm. The two of them slowly helped her hop on her good foot out of the ranger station. "Melanie, thank God you're all right!" Walton approached her, concern on her face, "Your friends tipped me off when they said you'd run off; I've been looking for you too. How's your leg!?"

"It hurts, Mrs. Walton. I sprained it bad running away from a group of people who did this to me," she said grimly.

"You poor girl," Walton glumly echoed everyone else's sentiment, "This is the work of Ernest Bishop's disciples for sure. Well, I brought a van with snow chains," she gestured at it, "You and the other girls hop on in the back, and we'll get you out of here."

"Good. Guys, go over in the van and help me get Melanie in," Marti told Sydney and Emily, who nodded and rushed towards the open back of the van. "Just a little more, Melanie, and we'll be on our way to safety," she told the blonde, helping Rick lead her towards the van, "It's almost over."

"Just so I can go home, crawl into bed, and sleep for a month," Melanie admitted with a sigh, "This weekend's been more than..."

They had reached the back of the van, when suddenly strong hands reached out and pulled her inside roughly. "Hey, what...!?" she started protesting, then shrieked when she saw she was surrounded by the same black-clad and masked figures who'd attacked her the previous night. "No, don't...!" she struggled to get away, but scores of hands grabbed her and held her motionless.

"Yes, we will," came a raspy voice. The see of black clad figures parted, revealing the most hideous-looking man, with horrible burn marks on his face. "Good morning, lovely," he told Melanie with a cruel grin, "My name is Ernest Bishop, and reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. And it would be my pleasure to show you that there's no escape for anyone I want destroyed."


	12. Chapter 12

"Oh God...!" Melanie gasped in horror at the hideous face of the killer, "But...you're dead...!"

"The police transport drivers are dead," Bishop let out a cold mirthless laugh, "My friends infiltrated the police; it was their bodies they found in the wreckage, and with the right set of teeth left at the scene," he opened his mouth to reveal a lack of teeth inside, "It was easy to believe I was dead. But people like me never die for good."

"Oh God...you...how...!?" stunned, Melanie turned to Walton outside the van. "I'm so sorry, Melanie," Walton lowered her head, heavy guilt on her face, "They found me out at some point; they have my husband and daughter at gunpoint back in Shadyside, and told me they were dead if I didn't lead them to you..."

"And so, you've served your usefulness," Bishop drew a gun and fired at Walton, who shrieked and jumped aside, but still stumbled to the ground, clutching a bleeding shoulder. "Drive," he called to the front of the van. With a roar of the engine, it started up and pulled forward. "No, let us go!" a petrified Emily shrieked, struggling to break away from the figures holding her and the other girls in place.

"You're not taking Melanie anywhere!" Rick took a flying leap and grabbed hold of the van's rear bumper. Grimacing in pain, Walton did the same. "Let them go!" she ordered, leveling a gun at Bishop, "You're not adding these sweet and caring girls to your list of victims, Bishop! They leave this van now, or...!"

Another shot went into her upper chest, sending her flying off the back of the van. "No, you leave this van, lady!" snarled another voice from the back of the knot of figures. Melanie's eyes went wide. It couldn't possibly be...!

"Rhonda!?" Rick gasped as well to see his former girlfriend push her way through the crowd, a horrible scar on her forehead and her arm in a sling, "But...you fell into the canyon...!"

"I landed in a soft enough snow mount to just have a broken arm. And by the way, Rick, if I can't have you, no one else will," Rhonda coldly turned the gun towards him and fired. "NO!" Melanie screamed as he too toppled off the back of the van-which then slid to a stop and backed up towards Rick and Walton. Two sickening thuds rang out before the van lurched forward again, two of the black figures slamming the doors shut, mercifully cutting off Melanie's view of the carnage. "YOU ANIMALS!" she screamed in anguish, struggling to get out of her captors' grasp, "HOW COULD YOU...!?"

"Shut the hell up, you filth!" Rhonda smacked her in the jaw with the handle of the gun, "Now you're going to pay a horrific price for everything, isn't she, Uncle Ernie?" she turned to Bishop with a sick smile.

"Uncle...you mean...?" Marti stopped struggling across the van and stared back and forth between Bishop and Rhonda in shock.

"And Rhonda's a great niece, picking out all the people at her school she wanted to die," Bishop let out another ominous laugh, "Some of them were real good ones to finish off too. And now, you four are next."

"No, you're not going to do this to us! Let go of me!" Emily screeched, pulling hard to get out of the hands of the figures holding her still. Bishop reached over, pulled the brunette's glasses off her eyes, tossed them to the van floor, and stamped on them until they shattered. "Secure them well," he ordered his cohorts, who started stripping the other girls of their coats and scarves, as well as pulling off Marti's jean jacket, "Then we can have some fun."

"You can't do this!" Melanie howled herself, struggling as ropes lashed around her wrists and elbows, "Please, let the rest of them go; I'll sacrifice...!"

"I said shut up!" Rhonda's arms closed around her throat and started choking her. "You stole Rick from me and interfered in Uncle Ernie's business at the hotel, and now you're going to pay in blood, Haddix!" she snarled, oblivious to Melanie's gasps for air, "And God can't save you now; no one can save you now."

"Nope," Bishop grabbed Melanie's crucifix and yanked it off from around her neck, "I'm God as far as you and your friends are concerned now, and there's divine punishment coming for the four of you."

"I said let them go!" Melanie could barely enunciate the words with her windpipe being choked, "Please, have some mercy for...!"

A large wad of cloth was jammed into her mouth to silence her. Another cloth was pulled around her head and tied into a tight knot, making her wince. Another cloth was pulled over her eyes in a flash, plunging her into total darkness. More ropes lashed around her chest and all up and down her legs. "Too tight for you, Haddix? Too bad if so," Rhonda snickered in her ear, "And this is just the beginning. And it starts with me making your pretty face a lot less pretty."

Melanie screeched as a knife slashed across her cheeks above the top of the gag. Rhonda's fists then started slamming into her face. Melanie whimpered, unable to fight back with her body completely encased in ropes now. "Don't forget her ears, honey," Bishop informed his niece, "She can't know at all where she's going."

Melanie froze, wondering if this had a horrific connotation for her. It was not, though, as bad as she feared, as a set of heavy headphones were pushed snugly over her ears. She was now completely deaf as well as blind and mute, however. And thus, had no warning when Rhonda's knee slammed into her chest, making her howl a silent howl and double over in agony. Another knee hit her chest, and then she was spun sideways and her face slammed into the side of the van. _"God in Heaven, make them stop this!"_ she pleaded for yet another miracle, _"Give us hope we can get out of this!"_

But it was then hands seized her arms, and she felt something being wrapped over the ropes on her wrists-tape, she felt it brush against her fingers when they were done applying it. And it now felt like steel had been welded over her wrists, basically eliminating any possibility she could work them loose. The tape was also wrapped over the ropes on her ankles as well. She was thrown roughly into the wall of the van, and a knife pressed hard against her throat. Melanie's blood froze, wondering if this was the end, but after a minute, the knife was removed, pressed instead against her side as a warning. Melanie's head slumped down. She felt horrible. _"Look what I've done now!"_ she lamented, _"Now Marti and the other girls are going to suffer with me, and Rick's...!"_

She started sobbing at Rick's fate. Hopefully, it was a quick and painlessly death for him, she begged in her heart; she'd hate for him to have suffered in his last moments. She whimpered in pain as Rhonda, or at least she assumed it was Rhonda, started kicking her sprained leg hard, sending sharp blasts of agony coursing through her. _"Come on, stop it, Rhonda; I'm suffering enough right now!"_ she thought furiously at her rival. Another punch crashed into her face instead. Mercifully, though, the onslaught ended after this. Melanie slumped her head against the wall and fought to keep from crying out of control. It would take the miracle of miracles to save her and her friends now.

It seemed she was driven around in the van for what seemed like an eternity; with her eyes and ears firmly covered, she had no sense of time or direction. Abruptly, though, she felt herself being scooped up in somebody's arms and carried out of the van. Snow whipped into her face for a while before stopping, hinting she'd been taken inside...somewhere. She was tossed down into a hard wooden chair, then shrieked in terror as she felt her belt being unbuckled. It was yanked off from around her waist, then pressed against the center of her chest, pulled around the back of the chair, and re-fastened on what felt like its tightest setting. A mountain of ropes then started binding her to the chair from head to toe; when her captors had finished, she was shoved up against what felt like another chair and tied back to back to it. Melanie found herself gasping; her belt was now making it impossible to fully breathe in. _"Now what's going to happen!?"_ she thought fearfully, _"I've got to at least know something that's going on here...!"_

She leaned her head to the side and started rubbing her head against her shoulder, trying to loosen the headphones from her ears, and hoping someone wouldn't be standing right over her to punish her from doing so. After a minute, the headphone slid off her ear just enough to allow sound to be heard. At first, all she could hear was a cacophony of muffled cries from her friends, screaming hard into gags of their own. Then, a familiar voice rose up. "I told you this is going too far!" Mr. Hunt the security chief was protesting, "You can't...!"

"You knew what you were signing up for, Hunt," Bishop said matter of factually, "And now, I'm going to finish what I started, here and there."

"This is madness! I never would have done your bidding! I demand...!" Hunt came to a sudden stop over the sound of a large clicking. Seconds later, Melanie could hear an ominous low rumble in the far distance. Her heart froze...the hotel...

"You maniac! I won't let you...AARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!" Hunt let out an agonized groan, followed by a low thump on the floor. Melanie shuddered in grief. At least now she knew who Bishop's primary mole at the hotel had been, but now he'd paid in blood, and she suspected she would soon too. "One more loose end wrapped up, and no more Devil Mountain ski resort," Bishop let out a sick laugh, "By the time anyone gets close to that wreckage, I'll have an all-time body count, well over a hundred people in one fell swoop."

"Shall we finish up the other loose ends here now, oh mighty leader?" another one of his disciples whom Melanie did not recognize spoke up.

"Yes, let's not waste time with these girls. Get it ready. Rhonda dear, give them back their hearing for a little while," Bishop asked his niece. Melanie felt the headphones being removed from her ears fully. "Well my dears, it's time we part, sad though that is," Bishop announced out loud, prompting more muffled screams from Melanie's friends, "This will be quick and painful for the four of you, we'll make sure of it. Let me know when you guess how you're going to die."

Something hit Melanie's nostrils-gasoline. She heard the trickling of it being poured all around her. Horror swept through her, prompting her to let out a bloodcurdling scream that she could barely hear through her thick gag. "Yep, you're going out in a literal blaze of glory," Bishop was leaning right in front of her face, "How fitting, someone like you whom I hear believe in heaven will perish in the fires of hell. Dump her down, Rhonda."

Melanie screamed in terror again as more gasoline was dumped all over her, dousing her completely. A shriek behind her rang out seconds later. "No point in begging, _Martina_ , this how you die for being Haddix's sidekick," Rhonda coldly snarled at Marti behind Melanie, "You and your friends here might have lived if you'd left her to herself or not bothered to join her in investigating Uncle Ernie's plan at the hotel. Now, it's way too late. You hear that, ladies?" she called across the room to where Sydney and Emily could be heard screaming, "It's your own faults you're going to die for hanging out with Haddix. Better say your prayers now; this building will burn real quick once we light it and you up. Hurry it up over there," she snapped impatiently to whoever was next to Sydney and Emily.

"There, we're done," one of them declared, "Let's burn them to a crisp."

"With pleasure. Goodbye, my dears, and say hello to Satan when you reach Hell," Bishop wished his victims a mocking farewell. The headphones were jammed over Melanie's ears again, once more cutting off all sound to her. Seconds later, the smell of fire reached her nostrils. _"Oh God, no, not like this! Please God, don't let us die like this!"_ she made a desperate last minute appeal to the Almighty for help. But the fire was spreading rapidly, overwhelming her lungs with smoke. She coughed horribly, struggling in her chair in desperation. But the ropes were too tight, and with the ropes on her wrists taped over, no way she and Marti could work on each other's wrists even though they could easily reach each other. And then she felt it: her jeans' cuffs ignited. **"PLEASE GOD NO, SAVE US SOMEHOW!"** she screamed in her mind, screeching in pain from the flames, gasping desperately for air in the smoky room, but unable to breathe properly with her belt fastened across her chest. It was only a matter of a few seconds, and she and her friends would be incinerated into ashes, she knew in horror. And it was all her fault they would die with her. She choked and slumped down in her chair, ready for the now inevitable...


	13. Chapter 13

...but then, strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and sharply hauled her to the left, chair and all. Melanie felt herself go airborne and crash through several wooden planks, but she landed on her side in a large patch of snow. The flames on her jeans were rapidly stomped out. Melanie moaned, partially in gratitude and partially in pain from the burns. The headphones were removed from her ears, bringing the sound of loud shouts and a few gunshots to her attention. "Melanie, you OK?" came a familiar voice in her ear. Melanie's heart leaped: Walton! And sure enough, as the blindfold was pulled from her eyes, there was the policewoman, agony on her face and a hand over the bloody wound on her upper chest, but alive. She whipped off Melanie's gag in a flash, then yanked the wad of cloth out of her mouth. "How did you...I saw you...!" Melanie gushed in a hyper voice. Then something else hit her mind. "Rick...!?"

Loud shrieks made her turn to the right to see Sydney and Emily come flying out the window in their chairs. And after them, gasping and bleeding but alive, was Rick. "Melanie!" he rushed to her and kissed her hard, then assisted Walton in untying Melanie and Marti from their chairs. "Thank God we were able to follow the trail quickly enough!" he gasped in relief.

"What's going on!? How'd the other cops get here!?" Marti exclaimed once Walton had pulled her gag off, staring around at the S.W.A.T. units chasing after Bishop's followers and bringing them into custody.

"I had them on standby; I texted in an S.O.S. after we were shot, and they were there in a flash. I couldn't give that away earlier, or I'd've given away the whole sting; I just wish it hadn't meant putting you girls in danger. Are you all right?" Walton asked them with concern.

"Yeah, you got here just in time...Rick!" Melanie threw her arms around him once they'd been freed.

"Melanie," he gushed, kissing her repeatedly, "I thought I'd lost you..."

"And you're still going to!" from out of nowhere, Rhonda shoved him aside, grabbed hold of Melanie, and hurled her into the arms of her uncle behind them. Bishop thrust a very large knife to Melanie's throat. "Ladies, gentlemen, weapons on the ground, now!" he ordered the police, who slowly complied. "OK, this lovely lady and I are walking out of here together, and nobody's going to follow, or she dies instantly, understand!?" he bellowed, "Let's go, sweetheart," he started dragging Melanie away.

"I'm not going with you!" Melanie squirmed to get out of his grip, "Get your hands off me now, or...!"

"Or what, your precious God will save you? I don't think so...uh oh," Bishop laughed as the ice of the small pond he'd stepped on started cracking, "We've got a weak ice layer here. Wouldn't it be tragic if something happened...?

He abruptly smashed the ice with his foot, leaving a large hole, and shoved Melanie in with a shriek. "Down you go!" he planted a foot on her head and tried to shove her under. Melanie gargled the brutally cold water, straining against the pressure of his foot. "Just once more, God, please, give me the strength to resist him!" she begged for one more miracle. Pushing up with all her strength, she managed to force her head above the water. "How do you have the strength!? Bishop was stunned, "Under, you little rat, to your grave...!"

"NO!" she yelled, kicking hard to keep her head above the ice. Bishop growled and pushed harder...

...but was blindsided from behind and sent toppling into the hole himself. Strong hands grabbed Melanie and pulled her out. "You all right!?" Rick hugged her hard.

"I am now," Melanie kissed him in gratitude. She turned at a shriek to see Bishop thrashing and kicking. "Help! I can't swim!" the killer gasped, looking terrified. Walton frowned down at him for a second, then shook her head and extended an arm, but it was too late; Bishop slipped under the surface and sank down out of sight. Walton stared down at the hole for about a minute, but he did not return. "He's gone. It's over," she declared, relief washing over her face. She turned towards Melanie. "You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm OK, thanks," Melanie told her.

"You're a very brave girl, Melanie. I'll try and give you some credit for this arrest," the policewoman told her with a smile, "Come on, the ambulance is this way; we'll get you back to Shadyside."

She took Melanie's arm and helped Rick escort her toward the ambulance in question. "Take your hands off me!" Rhonda was shouting, trying to resist the police officers trying to load her onto a snowmobile in handcuffs, "I've done nothing wrong here...!"

"She helped Bishop pick out his victims, and helped him try and kill me and my friends," Melanie spoke up, glaring at Rhonda, "And committed the cold-blooded murder of Roxanne Parker. I'll testify in court to it all."

"And like I said, Rhonda, it's over for good," Rick added, turning his back on his former girlfriend and walking away towards the ambulance. "Up you go," he helped lift Melanie up into the back, where the other girls were huddled together, wrapped in blankets.

"We'd like a statement from you too, son," another officer called to him. Rick nodded. "Be right back, Melanie," he told her, bustling off. Melanie turned towards Marti, Sydney, and Emily next to her. The four of them stared at each other for half a minute, then embraced each other with low gasps. "We made it," Emily gushed through tears.

"Yeah, see, you didn't die at the killer's hands, Emily," Sydney told her, rubbing the brunette's shoulder. "Still," she exhaled with a sigh, "I think I'm adventured out for a while. I say we go over to Melanie's and go to sleep for a month once we're out of the hospital. Everything OK, Melanie?" she asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, Sydney, thank you. How about you?"

"My heart's still going a million beats a minute; I've never been more scared than I was back there, thinking I was about to get roasted alive," Sydney confessed, and indeed she was visibly shaking, "But we're alive, and that's all that matters. I guess God's real after all and got us out of there alive."

"Yeah, I guess he was watching over us," Marti agreed. She pivoted towards Melanie and hugged her. "I don't know what I'd've done if I'd lost my best friend...!"

Melanie could only sniff in gratitude, still touched beyond words at Marti's and the other girls' devotion to her. With a low thump, Rick slid into the ambulance with them. "They said it was OK for me to take a ride with you girls," he said, giving Melanie another kiss and hug, "So let's head on home to Shadyside, and see what we can do to make it a better place once we're out of the hospital."

"Make Shadyside better? Don't make me laugh; it's beyond saving," Emily snorted, jerking to the right as the ambulance started bumping over the uneven terrain.

"Even lost causes as worth fighting for, and if we believe God can help, what can't we do?" Marti countered.

"Yeah, God makes everything possible," Melanie agreed, leaning her head against Rick's shoulder again as he squeezed her in close and her friends put their arms around her. God had dispelled the darkness for her and shown her the way home...

THE END


End file.
